Second Chance
by Domino5555
Summary: 50 years after a catastrophic invasion, Terry McGinnis goes back in time to prevent it from ever happening. Genres: comedy-drama, action-adventure, romance, science fantasy, and superhero. Rated T for intense violence, strong language, and mild sexual content. May be upped to an M. Co-written with DC Watchergirl from Chapter 3 onward.
1. Prologue

**Hey, guys. Domino5555 here, and I'm posting the first chapter of my new story. Actually, it's not really the first chapter. It's more of a prologue that sets up the events and gives you, the readers, some background so that you won't be as confused as hell (even though I'm sure that most of you will, but you can't fault a guy for trying to help, okay?). You won't have to read any of my previous work to understand the story. In fact, it's barely connected to my previous work at all. At any rate, here is the prologue.**

Gotham City, Veteran's Day, 2077. Ranked worst place to live in America, runner-up being Detroit. Of course, the world's isn't all that well off, to be honest. Every continent is one large smokestack powered by a bunch of smaller ones. It's not a pretty place to live. Hell, it makes 2019 from _Blade Runner_ look like paradise.

My name is Terry McGinnis. Officially, my day job is the secretary for my boss at Wayne Industries. Unofficially, I am Batman Beyond, the Batman's successor in stopping crime in Gotham City.

Let me give you the run down on how Earth became the cesspit of the galaxy.

March 20, 2027. The day that Clark Kent and Lois Lane are married. Not exactly the starting point of how the world went to hell, but it will serve as a prologue. Obviously, like any normal married couple, they consummate their wedding later on in the evening.

Three days later, the doctors find that Lois is pregnant with twins. She and Clark become excited, and Bruce Wayne offers to be their Godfather.

A week after that, though, is when things start going seriously wrong. Conner Kent, Clark's semi-clone, is captured on a mission to one of Lex Luthor's laboratories. Luthor's scientists experiment on him to transform him into Doomsday, a Kryptonian monster meant to kill Superman.

Soon enough, Conner or Doomsday (let's just call him Doomsday for simplicity's sake) does what he was made for: killing Superman. In a chaotic battle of the Metropolis suburbs, the Justice League are beaten by Doomsday, and Superman is killed by a spear coming from Doomsday's arm.

For what it was worth, Superman did not go out quietly, and manage to wound Doomsday, to the point his injuries were nearly fatal.

This allowed Miss Martian, who was Conner's girlfriend, to reach Conner inside of Doomsday's mind. Conner telepathically begged M'gann to kill him with the discarded kryptonite shotgun that one Private Leeroy Jenkins had tried to shoot him with but died in the attempt.

Normally, I would mock the presence of the shot gun as a "deus ex machina", but what happened next was a fate that Conner certainly did not deserve. A death for such a good guy transformed into a monster that would be a contender for "most tragic ending" alongside _The Fly_.

With the death of Superman, Luthor was free to continue his plans without his nemesis's interference. Dick Grayson would later tell me that Clark's death was one of the catalysts that led Bruce down a darker path, and I couldn't blame him.

Luthor then hired a PMC to firebomb Smallville, ensuring that Jonathan and Martha Kent would die. Assassins were then hired to assassinate Lois Lane-Kent and Clark's unborn children.

His political and monetary influence, combined with the Kryptonian monster known as Doomsday, enabled Luthor to initiate a smear campaign against various superhumans, banishing Wonder Woman and her disciples back to Themyscira, Aquaman and his apprentices to Atlantis, and Martian Manhunter back to, well, Mars.

Various members of the Justice League were disposed of or otherwise incapacitated: Professor Zoom was hired to assassinate Barry Allen, which he succeeded (though Barry was able to take Zoom with him); Sinestro murdered Carol Ferris, and the Guardians of the Universe being morons as usual, led Hal Jordan to use a Yellow ring; and Bruce, what the Joker did to break him, it was strike two on for the no-kill rule.

I learned about the details when I was starting out: how Joker tortured Tim Drake into becoming his heir; Joker paralyzing Barbara Gordon, and making her confined to a wheelchair to this day. At least that son of a bitch was killed by his own creation: Red Hood, courtesy of a revolver. The mad clown died a very painful death, and the world was better off because of it. At least, it was better off for a while.

Shortly after Tim and Barbara were decommissioned, Green Arrow, who now co-ran the Watchtower with Bruce, had intercepted internal messages at LexCorp concerning Superman's corpse. He sent the message to Bruce. However, M'gann, who was now hiding out on the Watchtower, had gone ahead where Superman's body was being held, and was obviously captured.

Bruce, Dick, and Jason went on an operation to that LexCorp facility in downtown Metropolis, where the damage had still not been repaired. Their mission was two-fold: rescue Miss Martian, and recover the corpse of Superman, so that it can at least be given a proper burial.

Upon achieving the former objective, however, they found M'gann to be brutally tortured, and something in Bruce broke as a result. Evidently, he gave Jason permission to unleash maximum prejudice upon the scumbags who did this to M'gann.

Meanwhile, Bruce continued searching for his best friend, discovered from various audio/video logs that Clark was alive, and found him, just not in the rightest of minds. Upon learning of the deaths of his adoptive parents and pregnant wife, Clark struck at Bruce in misplaced anger, even as Bruce pitied him for what had happened. When Bruce was able to get Clark to calm down, Dick called Bruce to tell him that the operation was a trap: the Watchtower was under attack, and they needed to get into orbit immediately.

Once they reached the damaged space station, they found countless superheroes and Watchtower crewmembers murdered. The dead included Jinx, Question, Director Inverse, Zatanna, the new Batgirl Cassandra Cain, Fire, Ice, Captain Atom, B'wana Beast, Shining Knight, Vigilante, Stargirl, and Cyborg. The shuttles were able to get the survivors out of the Watchtower, before it was destroyed, but there was now a newer problem: a colossal-sized boom tube signaled that Darkseid was invading with his Parademon army, and that Brainiac, Lex Luthor, Sinestro, Bruce's rogue gallery, and General Zod were allied with him.

The result was a planet wide massacre as there were too few heroes to defend the entirety of the world from such an onslaught. Many of the younger heroes at the time still have nightmares over the civilians they were unable to save.

Victory was achieved, and all of these villains wound up dead, thankfully. But the cost may have been too high a purchase: asides from the billions of people who died, the resurrected Superman lost his cousin Supergirl to a Kryptonite superlaser on Luthor's airship; Lieutenant Colonel Steve Trevor rammed his warplane in a successful kamikaze run to destroy the airship; Booster Gold, Guy Gardner, and Blue Beetle sacrificed their lives to get Bruce off the airship before it was destroyed; Talia al Ghul was shot by her father Ra's when trying to convince him to stop this madness; Damian Wayne needlessly sacrificed himself to make Bruce proud (it only brought him pain); Red Hood was mortally wounded in the battle to get Bruce off the airship and died afterwards; Artemis Crock was killed as retaliation for trying to snipe Darkseid (admittedly with a cheap shot); Queen Hippolyta and Donna Troy were among the many Amazons who died in a diversionary attack on the Parademons; Hal Jordan self-destructed his ring to take out Sinestro; Vixen, Hawkman, Huntress, and Black Canary went out by destroying Brainiac; Roy Harper managed to make amends with Wally West by sacrificing himself to destroy a squadron of Parademons with a hand grenade; Catwoman died by trying to get civilians away from the superlaser; and Wally, along with his girlfriend Linda Park, died when debris from Luthor's airship hit them, as his foot was permanently stuck in the concrete, and Linda decided to comfort Wally in his last moments by staying with him as he died.

Normally, you would expect from all this effort that the world would be a better place. Maybe that'd be the case for other Earths in the multiverse, but it sure as hell isn't for this one. In the aftermath of the invasion, corporations invested money into reconstruction efforts, and people were grateful.

Not all such corporations did this for purely humanitarian reasons, though. With the amount of superheroes that died in the battle, there would be little interference from the Justice League, and once people trusted the less scrupulous corporations, they would be free to run things to their will.

With very little regulation of business, the earth became a stripmine. Of course, there were those that wanted the situation to be reversed, but few of them had the power to do anything about it.

Even the heroes that survived had very hard lives: feeling unimaginable guilt for the billions who had died, Bruce withdrew back into Wayne Manor, relying on Alfred and later Dick to keep him alive; for his part, Dick had a daughter with Starfire, but when the time came to choose between Bruce and Kory, he chose his adoptive father; M'gann attempted suicide in the aftermath of the attack, but only resulted in frequent shapeshifting and telepathy at random, not even at will.

The worst thing about all of this, though, wasn't necessarily all those deaths, but rather the fallout: far too few good people remained to make the sacrifices of those who died matter. In the end, those who give their lives in a heroic way will never know if it meant anything. Because it's up to those he saved to keep on working to make his sacrifice matter. Ain't that a bitch.

How is it that I made it through this madness, then? Well, after Mom and Dad divorced, over the possibility that she cheated on him, I wasn't sure how I was going to get through life. When Dad was killed by a corporate enforcer, though, I had my answer: I was able to figure by age sixteen that long ago Bruce Wayne was the legendary Batman. And I wanted training to put an end to crime.

Becoming Batman was my calling, but it also made realize that what separated my parents wasn't an affair, but rather genetic engineering that turned my Dad into a genetic replica of Bruce Wayne. That's how I got my dark hair, after all.

Being able to reconcile with Mom and Matt, getting a day job as Bruce's secretary, and getting engaged to Dana Tan helped me establish my life. But even though my life's not as bad as it would be without Batman. I've always felt like someone should go back in time to prevent all of this craziness from ever happening.

I sent Bart Allen, Barry's descendent to the past a few years ago, but he arrived in the past a couple years earlier than intended. Maybe he's in trouble. Maybe he needs my help. But I also don't want to erase Dana from existence. She's the best thing that ever happened to me, even more so than Batman.

And yet, I can't help but pity the four billion lives that have never gotten a future. I guess I'll talk to Bruce about this.

 **Holy shit. Talk about setting up a dark future. I know that just from the overwhelming darkness alone, I've already lost more than a few of you. Don't worry, though, the story won't be anywhere near as nihilistic as the prologue makes it out to be. There will be plenty of humor to balance out the drama, or as a certain Titan once said: "perfectly balanced, as all things should be." And before you ask, no, I did not rip off "half the population" shtick from Infinity War. It was more of a coincidence than anything.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hey, guys. Domino5555 here. And this is the first chapter for Second Chance. Well, technically, it's the second, but the first technical chapter was actually a prologue. I had to cut it short, because I'm trying to bring up physics grades, so I apologize for that. Anyway, enjoy the read.**

 **EDIT: 10/22/18 Fixed a typo for February 19, 2077, because it was meant to be 2027.**

* * *

 _Gotham, New Jersey; November 11, 2077 10:30 PM EST_

Terry glided across the dirty skyline of Gotham to reach Wayne Manor, where Bruce was still (hopefully) there.

Every day came the possibility that it would be Bruce's last, as he was getting older. At this point, he was in his nineties for Christ's sake. And the standard for living hadn't exactly improved in the past fifty years.

Dick was still taking care of his surrogate father, but just like Bruce, he was also getting older, though not to the extent of his mentor.

It was frankly amazing how he was still there for Bruce, given that the latter wasn't exactly the most pleasant individual, though given what happened to him, who would blame him? Oh, that's right. Himself.

Bruce had "lots of issues", as his parents got killed when he was eight, half the world's population died on his watch, most of his surrogate family was dead, and he had alienated the rest.

His ego, ironically, led him to blame himself, because he felt like it was his responsibility to be the best, and when Darkseid attacked, he felt a large part of himself die.

Parademons rained like lightning upon the landscape, and so many died. So many voices, screaming in pain.

Finally reaching the ancient mansion, Terry knocked upon the door, and awaited a mid-seventies Richard Grayson.

At one point, Terry was going to have to thank Grayson for building the Batsuit. After Bruce went into self-imposed exile, Dick took his mentor's place as the Batman. And as he got older, he built a Batsuit that relied more heavily on nanomachines that allowed his aging body to stay in the fight. Of course, that also meant that if the suit was disabled, he would soon be out of commission, unless he kept himself trained in the old fashioned way.

Eventually, though, Alfred died, and Dick had to watch over his mentor. At the time, Richard was married to Kory, and had their daughter. But as he chose Bruce over his new family, they were currently estranged.

The door finally opening, Dick ushered Terry in to find Bruce, who was unsurprisingly still awake, next to the hidden entrance of the Bat Cave.

"Something's been bothering you tonight? What is it?" The ninety-something Bruce asked.

Terry's response to the query was a rather long monologue: "You and Dick know that I sent Bart back in time to fix the present, but that hasn't exactly worked out, considering that I sent him back three years ago, and he arrived three years before Clark and Lois's wedding. Should have been solved by now, but I feel like that I need to go there to check on him. No, that's not the true reason. The truth is that I am sick and tired of a world where kids in school are forced to read about the apocalypse every day. You know what it was like to have a bittersweet ending in the worst possible way. Every night, you wonder if you could have saved the four billion lives lost on November 11, 2027. You dream of the family that you lost to Darkseid. You desperately want to change what went horribly wrong, but you are too absorbed in your self-hatred to actually fix it. Well, that and the fact that you are kind of old. I think it's time that I went back to March 20, 2027 to do what you have so desperately wanted to do."

Bruce and Dick were so shocked at how blunt and honest Terry was being.

"I suppose there is a certain truth in what you say." Bruce admitted, as he turned to look at a picture of Clark and Lois's engagement party, taken over fifty years ago.

In addition to the then-newly engaged couple and the host of the party, the picture contained Diana Prince, Barry Allen, Iris West, Arthur Curry, Queen Mera, Hal Jordan, Carol Ferris, John Jones, Oliver Queen, Dinah Laurel Lance, John Stewart, Shayera Hol, Zatanna Zatara, Mari McCabe, Vic Sage, and Helena Bertinelli.

"Bruce, this isn't a movie. Don't think that the picture is going to dissolve into a flashback." Terry reminded.

"Right, sorry. I'm half-senile. I'll keep forgetting that I'm in reality." Bruce sarcastically snarked back. "Especially since my stepson threw his own party on the Watchtower that went out of hand."

Case in point, the reason for Nightwing's party getting out of control wasn't his fault, but rather Wally fooling around with Linda in the showers by engaging in "soap play".

"Hey, the only reason I took the fall was because we agreed that Wally would not be made fun of posthumously!" Dick fired back.

Bruce then look hurt at the comment, causing Dick to immediately regret saying that to him.

"Bruce, I'm sorry. I didn't mean- , "Dick apologized.

"I know." Bruce responded, comfortingly putting a hand on his stepson's shoulder. "I miss him, too. As much as his antics annoyed me, I always possessed a soft spot for the fast youngster. Not a day goes by where I don't remember his jokes."

"And you did pay for his facial reconstruction surgery after Roy almost killed him." Terry added, turning his head to Grayson. "Are we sure he didn't have a thing for you, Dick? After all, he did call you 'the prettiest dude alive'."

"You're busting my balls, aren't you, Terry?" Dick asked.

"A little bit, yeah." Terry answered.

Richard smiled in response, and even Bruce began to fall suit.

"So do you want me to save him?" Terry asked once more.

"Talk to Dana, first." Bruce advised. "Assuming that you don't make it, your fiancé should, at the very least, know where the hell you went."

"Fair point." Terry conceded. "I'll let Mom, Matt, and Max know as well."

"What are we supposed to do if you fail your mission?" Dick asked.

"Tell the Commissioner that she should increase the standards for the police." Terry answered. "Hell, I'll tell Barbara now."

Terry left the house and glided away.

"You have other regrets, don't you, Bruce?" Dick stated, once Terry left and the door was closed.

"Yes. Talia, Selina, Damian, Zatanna, Cassandra, Jason, all dead because I wasn't strong enough." Bruce somberly answered. "Also, Diana had to leave me to lead the Amazons after the invasion, because Hippolyta died due to the diversionary attack being poorly planned on my part."

"Bruce, you can't keep beating yourself up over what happened in the past." Dick told his mentor. "We all lost something that day. But self-blame isn't the way to deal with it."

"Neither is failure to take responsibility." Bruce retorted. "Frankly, I'm still surprised that you haven't left because of my self-hatred."

"Well, maybe the reason I've stayed is because of your self-hatred." Dick responded. "I'm not going to leave for one day to return and find out that you purposely gave yourself an overdose."

Though he would rarely show it, Bruce greatly appreciated his son's loyalty. He wouldn't be able to deal with himself if he was in the same place.

And if Terry did succeed in his quest to fix the past, the world would undoubtedly be a far better place.

Lois would still be alive, and she and Clark would still be married.

* * *

 _Gotham, New Jersey; February 19, 2027 7:30 PM ET_

Bruce Wayne raised a glass of enchanted wine, to propose a toast to the assembled crowd within Wayne Manor.

Tim was at the local pizzeria on a date with Stephanie Brown.

Dick and Jason were hosting a party of their own on the Watchtower, having promised that they could keep Wally under control.

And Alfred was currently babysitting Cassandra and Damian in a separate wing, far away from the festivities both in Wayne Manor and the orbital Watchtower.

"Everybody, thank you for coming to this party to celebrate the recent engagement between Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Proposed five days ago on Valentine's Day, at a small farm in Smallville, I consider it my greatest honor to host the engagement party for my best friend!" Bruce loudly announced, in a manner that would make Tom Cruise look modest by comparison.

There was no secret identities to hide here. Most of everybody here already knew that Bruce was Batman, but there was no need to act like an edgy nineties anti-hero tonight, considering that this was a party.

"At least we know how he hams it up as Bruce Wayne." Ollie whispered to his girlfriend.

"Indeed." Dinah whispered back, barely concealing her giggling.

"And though I shall not be the priest to officiate them, I have begun spending money on the preparations!" Bruce announced. "May Clark and Lois's union last a thousand years!"

The other guests raised their glasses in agreement, and downed their wine, which was magically enhanced courtesy of Zatanna.

Afterwards, the guests began to gather and talk amongst themselves.

Lois chatted with Carol and Iris over how their boyfriends were badass superheroes.

Shayera and Mari joked about what John Stewart's "underwear drawer" looked like.

Zatanna demonstrating many a magic trick to Vic and Helena, the former coming up with conspiracy theories for the magic and the latter being semi-amazed.

Hal trolling Clark over how the Kryptonian and Lois were going to make the best love ever.

And of course, Bruce talking with Diana over when it would be a good time for them to take the next step.

Suddenly, Bruce felt a vibration in his left pocket. Pulling out his smartphone, he found that Nightwing was trying to call him.

"Excuse me, Diana. Richard's making a call." Bruce apologized.

Answering it, Bruce began to casually walk away.

"Let me guess. It's Wally." Bruce wondered.

"Nope. He's been a good boy so far." Dick answered, subverting his stepdad's expectations. "In fact, we don't have any real problems. We just wondered how much money we could spend for food and movies."

"I left $10000 for you to spend on the Watchtower." Bruce responded. "Don't worry. You won't have to work it off."

"Thanks." Dick said before cutting the signal.

Bruce sighed as he wondered if Richard calling was worth interrupting his conversation with Diana about getting married and having children.

Contrary to most people's belief, Bruce Wayne was not a true womanizer. Numerous women dated him, of course, but very few of those encounters resulted in sex.

He basically told most of them to go home to tell the media he bedded them, and that was the end of it.

In addition, he had the audacity to pay Gotham's newspapers to shit talk him, and that included his false reputation as a ladies' man.

When Ollie found this out that not only were his exploits exaggerated, but he bribed the newspapers to do it, all the green-wearing archer could say was "Sweet Jesus, you are a freaking legend."

The actual number of women he had actually made love with could be counted on one hand: Rachel Dawes, Selina Kyle, Zatanna Zatara, Talia al Ghul, and Diana Prince.

At any rate, the tabloids were now looking for another celebrity to talk shit about, but Bruce Wayne was now in a healthy, faithful relationship with antiquities collector Diana Prince.

* * *

 _Watchtower, Orbit; February 19, 2027 18:00_

Nightwing was currently working with Director Inverse in organizing the Watchtower for the party in an hour.

Director Inverse was a music video director who also happened to be a personal friend of Dick Grayson.

His stage name took inspiration from many of the superheroes, so he gave himself a simultaneously cheesy and cool name.

His costume was an odd choice, as he constantly wore 1980s shades and a tuxedo, had a circa 2000 brown mullet, and his skin was almost chalk white.

The biggest things to worry about at this party was Wally and Roy's longtime rivalry, starting when Wally had slept with Roy's adoptive sister Artemis Crock, and climaxed when Roy used friction to burn off half of Wally's face when discovering that the red-headed speedster had been two-timing Artemis with Jinx.

Naturally, this resulted in Roy being fired, and was only recently being rehired as Red Arrow.

Wally, for his part, faced little repercussions, due to his traumas being more than enough punishment.

Thankfully, the experience led Wally to be far more faithful in relationships, and was currently dating one Linda Park, a reporter hopeful at Keystone College.

Things might become complicated if Linda got an invitation to the Watchtower, partially because of the old "exes meet the current girlfriend" plot and partially because Wally might get it on with her in the sauna.

Of course, it's not like Roy's love situation was much better: during his fight with Wally, he had accidently given Donna a black eye, and they broke up as a result. Apparently, he had a daughter with Artemis's half-sister Jade, who happened to be Cheshire.

They'd thought of chaining up Wally, but it was rumored that he had engaged in some consensual BDSM with Artemis in the past.

Thank God they weren't getting any alcohol, because Wally would trip up so many times, it wouldn't be funny.

Although, given Wally's "prettiest dude alive" compliment to Nightwing, seeing him drunkenly kiss Richard would be the funniest thing ever, it would become a disaster for Kory and Linda.

Yeah, it would not be worth it at all. At all.

D.I. checked over the invitation list for the Watchtower party: "Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Red Hood (Jason Todd), Red Arrow (Roy Harper), Kid Flash (Wally West), Director Inverse ([IDENTITY CLASSIFIED]), Donna Troy, Artemis Crock, Jinx, Starfire (Kory Anders), Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), Raven (Rachel Roth), Changeling (Garfield Logan), Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), Superboy (Conner Kent), Supergirl (Kara Kent), Cyborg (Victor Stone), Captain Marvel (Billy Batson), Miss Martian (Megan Morse), Tempest (Garth), Linda Park, and Cheshire (Jade Harper)"

D.I. chuckled at how his secret identity was labeled "[IDENTITY CLASSIFIED]". Apparently, Bruce did have a sense of humor after all.

Speaking of Superboy, D.I. also remembered to turn on the perpetual zero-gravity option for Conner and Megan's shared quarters, lest they shake the Watchtower as they had sex.

"Yeah, I think we're ready, pretty boy." D.I. called to Nightwing.

Richard nodded.

Fifty eight minutes and thirty six seconds later, the party began.

D.I. volunteered to keep a close eye on Wally and Linda to make sure they didn't do anything stupid. But Jason vetoed that.

* * *

 **Yeah, like I said, it's pretty short. Don't worry. I'll give more details on the Watchtower party next chapter. This is Domino5555, signing out.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey, guys. Domino5555 here, uploading the next chapter today. Might have had a little too much fun writing this chapter, and if the sex scenes were a little too frisky, I apologize. But I did warn that there would be "mild sexual content". You can read it in the description. It's up there. See? You can't say I didn't warn you. Thanks to Ozai37 and LOTSLOVER for beta testing. Anyways, happy reading!**

* * *

 _Gotham, New Jersey; November 11, 2077 11:30 PM EST_

Almost an hour ago, Terry had left Wayne Manor to let various people know where he was going, such as GCPD commissioner Barbara Gordon, Wayne Enterprises tech specialist Maxine Gibson, and his remaining family Mary and Matt, his mother and younger brother, respectively.

Now, he was flying towards his and Dana Tan's shared apartment, as they moved in together when they had gotten engaged about two weeks ago.

This was what was going to make telling Dana so hard, because if he changed the past in a way that Darkseid's invasion would never happen, what if he and Dana never met?

Then again, what if they did meet?

Some years ago, Bruce had told Terry that some things were meant to happen, and that those things would eventually correct themselves via quantum physics, or whatever bullshit it was. Neither man was a physicist after all.

What if Terry was meant to be the Batman? What if his father Warren had to die after all? What if he and Dana were always meant to be together?

God, time travel was so complicated. If none of this worked, he would just blame Max for sharing her copies of the _Terminator_ , _X-Men_ , and _Back to the Future_ movies with him.

Nah, he would just blame Max for sharing the _Terminator_ sequels after _Judgement Day_ anyway, regardless if it worked or not.

Finally arriving at the twentieth story of the apartment complex, he set foot on the veranda of the upscale but not extravagant condominium.

Dana was likely asleep at this point, and she was due to be working in less than six hours, but she had to know.

Terry would be unable to live with himself if he failed his mission, which would result in Dana having no idea where he went for a very long time.

Although, if he failed his mission, he would more than likely be dead anyway, so perhaps that would be a mercy.

Quietly walking in the apartment, he reached the bedroom, where Dana was, big shock, still asleep, the blankets and sheets covering her body.

Still wondering how he was going to give her the news, Terry was thankful that tonight's crime rate was relatively low, compared to most nights.

He tiptoed towards the left side of the bed, the side where Dana was sleeping.

Once he reached that area, he slowly moved his hand towards his sleeping fiancé to gently poke her.

Slowly, Dana woke up to see her lover still wearing his black mask.

"Terry?" The still sleepy early-thirties woman asked.

"Yep, it's me." Terrence answered. "I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" Dana responded as she began rising from the bed, revealing a cyan nightdress as the covers fell.

"Do you ever wonder if Darkseid's invasion never happened and if we would ever meet?" Terry asked.

"Well, my parents moved to Gotham after the invasion, but I never figured out if it was a reactionary action to said invasion, or if it was unrelated. Why are you asking me?"

"Well, to be frank, my dear..."

 _If Terry finishes this sentence with "I don't give a damn", I'm going back to sleep_. Dana thought.

"... I don't want to raise our family in a world where schoolchildren have to read about the devastation of Earth every day." Terry answered. "I want to go back in time to prevent it from ever happening. Can you imagine a world where Earth was never destroyed and we would be married?"

"I've thought about it, but I never invested anything serious into it." Dana responded. "I think it's a possibility that everyone has thought of, but no one has ever been able to do it."

"Three years ago, I tried to send the Flash back in time to 2027, but an error in the time machine led Bart to arrive three years too early." Terry said. "There's a chance that I could go back to help Bartholomew, and most of the events that led the Earth to hell could be undone. In case I failed, though, I just wanted you to know where I went."

There was a pause for a while, as it took Dana some time to take in what Terry said.

"Terry, your mask is still on," The black eyed woman finally said. "Please take it off."

"Oh, right." Terry said, as he apparently just realized he had been wearing the cowl this entire time.

Removing the hood, Dana was finally able to look into his handsome, determined blue eyes. He did inherit Bruce Wayne's traits after all.

As they moved in closer, their lips started to touch.

Pulling away gently, Terrence reminisced of the time when he tried to pull the upside down kiss from the 2002 _Spider-Man_ film with Dana, but had failed because she was kissing leather. Not exactly the best taste for lips.

"Terry, no matter what happens as a result of you changing the past, know that I will always love you." Dana comforted, as they moved in for another kiss.

The kiss quickly became far more sensual than the previous one, as one of Dana's hands was now on the Batsuit's zipper, and said zipper was being moved down.

For his part, Terry's hands were now on Dana's back, trying to remove the straps on her dress.

Suddenly, the police scanner inside Terry's brain rang, a cybernetic enhancement that would keep him up to date on emergencies.

"Shit." Terry swore, as he pulled away and knew that it was time to return to work.

Even though Dana could not hear the internal scanner, she knew just from the look on Terry's face that it was time for him to return to work.

"Go get 'em, Tiger," Dana encouraged as she gave him a gentle peck on the lips, quoting the final line from _Spider-Man 2_.

Terry pulled his zipper back up, retrieved his mask and jumped off the veranda, gliding towards the new emergency.

Dana watched her hero leave as she stood, and then returned to bed.

* * *

 _Watchtower, Orbit; February 19, 2027 19:35_

Richard put his cellphone back in his pocket, as Bruce basically left them ten grand to order food.

Normally, if they needed food, they would check out the commissary or canteen. But there wasn't exactly enough food stored there for the assembled group of party goers, especially since the staff were on break, and wouldn't want to be anywhere near partying superheroes.

So far, Wally was being kept under control. He wasn't speaking in innuendos, or making inappropriate advances onto Linda.

Dick saw Roy walk by him as he grabbed a soda to down, but the latter looked more like he needed someone to talk to.

Nightwing decided to be that someone.

"Roy, you okay?" Dick asked.

"Haven't really talked with Donna for the past seven years. Never really came to terms with it, to be honest." Roy admitted. "I was on heroin during that time, argued with her over my addiction, and then I accidentally hit her in my attempt to murder Wally. Of course she would have left me."

"You feel guilty about hitting her? Or maybe also nearly killing Wally?" Dick asked.

"The only reason that West and I can work together is because we respect you." Roy answered, not really answering the question. "After the debacle where it was revealed that he was two-timing my sister and Jinx, he filled the gap between that time and meeting Miss Park by being infatuated with you."

Again with the "prettiest dude alive" comment. Could people not accept that maybe Wally was stating facts?

Oh, shit. That was the ego alert. "Prettiest dude alive" wasn't exactly a fact.

"As for me, I respect your leadership and strength." Roy declared. "I don't know what you see in that womanizing douchebag to convince you to make him your executive officer, but I will go along with your decision."

"Thanks, I guess." Dick awkwardly said. "I think it's time that you reconcile with Donna. It may not be the same it was before, but from my conversations with her, I think that she's forgiven you. You just need to forgive yourself."

Dick and Donna had never been lovers, as their relationship was more similar to that of Ethan Hunt and Ilsa Faust from _Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation_ and _Mission: Impossible – Fallout_. Their bond was based on emotion, but was not romantic.

"I suppose that you're right. She's moved on to Kyle, but even though her injury has been healed, every time I see her face, I see that black area around her right eye that I had punched." Roy contemplated.

"Wally was able to restore his friendships with Artemis and Jinx after the incident. Granted, it took a lot of time, but you can make things right, too." Dick encouraged.

"Two-timing your girlfriend for six months is one thing. Accidentally giving her a black eye is another." Roy quietly retorted.

"I'll be the judge of that." Dick responded, as he signaled for Donna and Kyle to join their table.

The former Wonder Girl and the newest addition to the Green Lantern Corps did so.

Roy knew that he had zero chance of rekindling his relationship with Donna, not that he wanted to.

From what he read in the personnel records, Kyle was a really nice guy, and would be a far better boyfriend for Donna than Roy ever was.

Granted, Roy's relationship with Donna was nowhere near as abusive as the former would have one believe, as he only hit her the one time, but was sadly unable to let it go.

"Hi." Roy awkwardly greeted.

"Hello, Roy." Donna responded, with almost no hint of bitterness towards what happened so long ago.

Kyle looked a little protective of Donna, which was understandable, considering that Roy was her ex, and he didn't want Donna to be hurt again.

"Kyle, calm down, please." Donna requested.

Kyle did so, and stopped looking tense.

"Donna," Roy started, with a moderate pause in between. "I am so sorry for hitting you all those years ago. I'm sorry I yelled at you regarding my heroin addiction. I wish that none of this happened."

"What's done is done." Donna said. "I already forgave you long ago. I know that you never meant to hurt me."

"So you say, but I still feel guilty." Roy said. "No matter how many times I'm forgiven, I will always feel the guilt of what I've done."

Almost on cue, the Linkin Park song _What I've Done_ started playing on the loudspeakers.

"Damn it, guys." Nightwing swore on his communicator. "How many times do I have to tell you not to hijack the loudspeakers?"

Roy, at least, was able to chuckle at the irony of that song playing right after his sentence.

"Wally did it!" Cyborg accused.

Soon, even Kyle and Donna joined Roy in laughing.

Dick now sighed in relief that Donna and Roy would now be getting along. Mission accomplished.

* * *

 _Watchtower, Orbit; February 19, 2027, 19:25_

It was peculiar that Linda Park was sitting at the same table as Artemis Crock and Jinx, as the latter two were Wally West's ex-girlfriends, and there was the worry that they might break out into a fight.

Fortunately, and strangely enough, all three young women were amiable enough to chat about Wally himself, without worry of jealousy.

As of right now, they were talking about their various "misadventures" with Wally.

"You know, the first time we got it on was after he played matchmaker for Conner and Megan." Artemis recalled. "He was surprisingly blunt about thinking that I needed to get laid, regarding my disguise as a coldhearted bitch. I agreed with him, and his words post-sex were 'just like the simulations.'"

The trio of females laughed at how Wally referenced a _Star Wars: Battlefront II_ meme to describe his thoughts about sex.

"I imagine that he had quite the sense of pride and accomplishment that night." Linda wondered.

"Whoa, sister." Artemis explained. "Don't go there. I don't like _that_ game referenced."

"Alright, how about this? 'Sector is clear.' Roy walks in on Wally and Artemis getting it on. 'Not clear! Not clear!'" Linda thought up.

The triplet burst out laughing so hard that it hurt their stomachs.

"Okay, that was a pretty good one." Artemis admitted, as she downed a Coke.

"Here's another one: Wally gets a text message from Linda saying 'THEY SENT IN THE SUPERS!' This causes Wally to speed towards her dorm." Jinx suggested.

Artemis accidentally spit out the drink onto Linda she was having and laughed.

"Oh my God. Has that ever happened?" The blonde archer asked Linda.

"Haven't tested that yet. I'll do so the next time I get the chance." Linda stated, wiping the soda off her yellow jacket.

"Where's Wally now?" Jinx wondered.

"Being a good boy." Linda answered. "He's promised to wait until after the Korean dinner and movie."

"Hopefully it works out better for you than it did for us." Artemis wished, referencing the infamous two-timing incident.

"Well, he's straight now. He practically has a sign that reads 'dick closed.'" Linda expressed hopefully.

"I wouldn't go that far." Artemis warned. "During our relationship, I heard Wally moan in his sleep about how he wished that he had Superboy's manhood."

"And there was that… unhealthy admiration for Tom Cruise." Jinx added. "Need I remind you of his 'prettiest dude alive' comment describing Nightwing?"

"He did claim that he was 'just stating facts.'" Artemis defended. "Leave him alone about that."

"Yeah, you're right." Jinx agreed. "You're right."

* * *

 _Watchtower, Orbit; February 19, 2027, 19:40_

Conner walked around the party area, trying to get a good signal for his phone.

Just hours before the party started, Wally had called in an eight-year old favor that came from him playing matchmaker for Conner and Megan.

The favor was being wingman for Wally and Linda's date on the Watchtower.

Conner was a little creeped out by the fact that Wally, who was in his late twenties, was dating a college student. Granted, Linda was a senior in journalism, so the age difference wasn't as creepy as it could have been. And it certainly wouldn't be as creepy as it would be between, say, Batman and Batgirl.

And besides, Conner was a ten year old half-Kryptonian clone who would never age, and he was in a relationship with a White Martian who was, at the very least, centuries old, so who was he to judge?

He was currently trying to call a Korean restaurant for their dinner, as Linda was a third-generation Korean-American, and Wally thought that it might be fitting for them.

Of course, it was kind of hard without knowing the Korean language or diet.

He'd ask Linda about a traditional Korean meal, but she was currently chatting with Wally's exes about various "misadventures" with Wally.

Wally, meanwhile, was hacking the loudspeakers because he was bored, and didn't want to get too fresh with Linda.

Conner did find it interesting that many of the women that Wally had been attracted to happened to have Asian ancestry.

Giving up, he switched the frequency to Director Inverse to help put in an order for Korean food, knowing it would result in Conner owing D.I. a solid.

"Don't worry. I'll take care in it. I'm fluent in dozens of languages. Don't ask me how I had time to learn them." D.I. promised.

"Thanks." Conner muttered before cutting the signal.

If Superboy couldn't organize dinner, he could at least find the proper movie in the cinema catalog.

While public funding comprised most of the Watchtower's budget, Wayne Enterprises and Queen Industries also had a crucial role in keeping the space station fully operational.

As no one in their right mind would use their public funding for a private cinema, sauna, or sports stadium, and Bruce and Oliver were far too honorable to resort to embezzlement, they used some of their personal fortunes to build those facilities for personal use by the superheroes on station.

Bruce evidently kept the best care of the films in his catalog, as they were available in the highest resolution in which they were distributed in.

And if the films in the catalogue were not available in IMAX or 4K, his archivists did the best job in remastering them, not merely doing a half-assed effort.

So, if, say, _Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith_ was shot entirely using 2K digital cameras, Bruce's archivists would upscale it to 4K resolution.

Bruce was partial to the films of Christopher Nolan for some reason (possibly because he revived the _Gray Ghost_ movie series back in 2005), and so every one of them was available in IMAX.

On the other hand, Wally was a big fan of Tom Cruise movies, and had copies of _Top Gun_ , every _Mission: Impossible_ movie, _Jerry Maguire_ , _Born on the Fourth of July_ , _Rain Man_ , _Tropic Thunder_ , the 2005 _War of the Worlds_ remake, _The Last Samurai_ , _Minority Report_ , _Oblivion_ , _Edge of Tomorrow_ , and even that crappy 2017 _The Mummy_ remake.

Maybe Conner could switch it up, by screening Edgar Wright's most underrated film _Scott Pilgrim vs. the World_ , even though one of Ramona's exes, the one played by Brandon Routh, reminded him of Superman, and by extension himself, a little too much.

Then again, Henry Cavill in _Mission: Impossible – Fallout_ reminded him of Clark even more. Yeah, he would choose _Scott Pilgrim_ for the movie to be played after dinner, since Wally wanted the movie to be a surprise.

Conner's phone began ringing as soon as he inserted _Scott Pilgrim_ into the projector. Evidently, D.I. had succeeded in ordering Wally and Linda's dinner.

"Mission accomplished, Superboy." D.I. affirmed. "You better get to the commissary."

"On my way," Conner responded, trying to cover his tracks. "They better not be expecting a French Bruce Campbell, because I am not participating in a failed date breakup."

"Hey, I didn't like _Spider-Man 3_ that much either." D.I. said. "But props for Bruce for trying to get Peter and Mary Jane together."

"True. I'm on my way." Conner said as he deactivated the signal.

 _Please, God, let this date go smoothly._ Conner hoped.

* * *

 _Watchtower, Orbit; February 19, 2027 20:15_

The Korean food had now been teleported into the commissary, and a table was quickly cleared for Wally and Linda's dinner.

The pace that the crew were going would lead one would think that it was a medical emergency.

Then again, if Wally didn't use a condom later tonight, they might have to make an emergency delivery in nine months.

Wally was no longer hijacking the radio out of boredom, and was instead wearing a cerulean golf shirt and jeans at the table with Linda, who had sent her yellow jacket to the laundry, esposing her black tank top and skirt.

Conner, being their waiter, was given a tuxedo and faux-moustache, clearly frustrated by the circumstances. But Megan had encouraged him to be a good sport, promising him another great night if he didn't sabotage the date.

Wally was unusually polite in eating his dinner, as normally he consumed large quantities of food to supply him with energy.

Since this was a date, however, he refused to engage in such rudeness, and Linda appreciated that.

"So, how have been classes?" Wally asked, trying not to make this an awkward eating fest.

"Finished tests today." Linda answered. "If it weren't for the gossip about you seeing me, it would be the same old generic news."

"Well, pretty soon, you'll be able to report on more interesting things." Wally promised. "Bruce is thinking of assigning civilian reporters to Justice League units, but he wants to test this on mercy missions instead of combat missions."

"Yeah, that would make sense." Linda remarked. "Combat situtations aren't exactly the safest place for reporters, as they are often the targets of insurgents."

"Someone has to do them, but I'm glad it won't be you." Wally said. "Wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

"You're right." Linda said. "I'll be safe as long as a certain speedster is there to protect me."

Conner internally groaned at their flirtation. Was his and Megan's flirting this unbearable for everyone? Or was it just the inevitable shaking of the Watchtower?

"Actually, you really should report on humanitarian missions." Wally stated. "The Justice League just don't fight bad guys. We also help out third-world countries so we can make a better tomorrow."

"And you've been doing all this since 2016." Linda said.

"Stop it. You're reminding me of how old I am." Wally requested, jokingly ashamed.

Linda chuckled at how self-deprecating Wally was being.

"Besides, if you tried to be an intern under Aunt Iris, there would be instant accusations of nepotism." Wally pointed out, knowing that people would accuse Linda of sleeping with Wally to get the job.

By this time, they had already finished their food, and Conner was collecting the dirty dishes.

"By the way, the movie shall be playing in ten minutes, so I'll give my regards to the chef." Conner informed.

"Make sure that you don't use Google Translate." Wally advised.

Conner chuckled at how Wally jabbed at the frequent inaccuacies of the translation service.

Wally and Linda got up from their seats, and headed towards the internal cinema.

Conner, for his part, headed to his and Megan's shared quarters once he put the dishes in the washer.

* * *

 _Watchtower, Orbit; February 19, 2027 20:30_

The party was winding down by this point. Roy and Donna had reconciled, and the former was going home with Jade and Lian, who had somehow remained asleep on Jade's back the entire party. Jason was covering patrol in Gotham tonight, albeit in a less lethal way than usual. Wally and Linda were watching _Scott Pilgrim_ in the theater, as opposed to seeing it on a 4K television in Wally's quarters. D.I. was still covering for Conner in being the couple's steward. Several of the remaining members on station were now taking work shifts.

Conner was not one of them, as he was retiring to his quarters for the night to see what Megan had waiting for him.

He reached the door, and gently knocked.

 _M'gann_ _, it's me_ _._ Conner spoke telepathically.

 _Sorry, I'm still taking a shower. Just wait at the TV room, and watch whatever there is._ M'gann responded.

 _Got it._ Conner said, as he entered the code for their quarters.

Entering the room, the half-Kryptonian clone took off the black jacket and put it on the coat hangar in their closet.

He walked towards the UHD TV, grabbed the remote, and collapsed onto the couch.

Two minutes later, Megan exited the restroom, wearing a towel.

She walked toward the couch where her boyfriend was lying down.

 _I behaved for Wally._ Conner said, barely able to keep looking at her face.

 _Yep, you were a good boy, and now you get your cake._ Megan giggled.

She grabbed the remote, and remotely activated the zero gravity option.

As expected, Conner and Megan started to float in the abscense of gravity.

The towel no longer tied to her body, Megan was revealed to have shapeshifted in a way that her breasts and pelvis had Barbie-esque anatomy.

Excited at the invite, the couple began making out, as Megan slowly took off Conner's shirt.

The boots went off next, and then the pants, leaving Conner only in his black and red boxers.

Flying towards their magnetized bed, Conner grabbed the blanket to cover themselves as they really started getting it on.

* * *

 _Watchtower, Orbit; February 19, 2027 22:45_

Superboy and Miss Martian were not the only couple to make love that night, as Nightwing and Starfire lay in their bed naked after three instances of sex.

They were about to go for a fourth round, when Dick's communicator started ringing.

They briefly considered ignoring this, but when it kept ringing, they decided that it might actually be important.

"Nightwing here." Richard spoke into the device.

"Thank God!" Wally exclaimed in an uncharacteristically panicked voice. "D.I. just fainted! He'll live, but I think he needs to get to the infirmary!"

"Okay, just calm down, and get him there." Dick ordered.

"I can't." Wally responded.

"Why not?" Dick asked, before instantly realizing that D.I. accidentally walked in on Wally and Linda engaging in "soap play".

Nightwing groaned before issuing further commands.

"Okay, look. Just put your clothes back on, get D.I. to the medical bay, and stop fooling around tonight." Dick spoke before cutting the signal, not caring if Wally's clothes were torn beyond repair.

* * *

 **Okay, it's official. I had too much fun writing the scene where Linda, Jinx, and Artemis refer to _Battlefront 2_ memes.**

 **For the apartment that Terry and Dana share, just imagine Padme Amidala's apartment from the _Star Wars_ prequels.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hey, guys. I'm back with Chapter Three for Second Chance. I'd like to give a quick shout-out and thank-you to DC Watchergirl for writing the sequence for where Lois, Kara, and Megan go dress shopping. As much as I'd hate to admit it, I've never really had a girlfriend, so I don't really know what it was like shopping for clothes, let alone wedding dresses, I am not that old yet, and I certainly don't want to be seen as a cross-dresser. Check out her works, because she's half the reason I started work on fanfics back in 2017. (The other half was LOTSLOVER.) Btw, if you're reading this, Ozai37, don't get jealous.**

 **Edit 11/5/2018: Added missing words to sentences. It's not like we're Bethesda releasing video games.**

* * *

 _Gotham, New Jersey; November 11, 2077 11:40 PM EST_

After telling Dana his plan, Terry was once again flying towards another emergency.

He reached the origin point of said emergency, which was the Gotham City Mall, and had... a dead White Martian.

"My God." Terry whispered in shock, as he realized that M'gann was killed.

A dozen police officers, plus an ambulance speeder, were at the crime scene, Sergeant Matthew McGinnis among them.

After discovering that his older brother was Batman, Matt evidently wanted to follow Terry's footsteps by joining law enforcement.

Terry glided towards his brother to find out what had happened.

"Sergeant McGinnis," Terry greeted, as he was not sure if the other officers knew their secret.

"Batman," Matt saluted back.

"What exactly happened here?" Terry asked.

"It is no secret that ever since Miss Martian's failed suicide, she has experienced accidental telepathy and shapeshifting." Matt redundantly explained. "The traumas she endured during the invasion and afterwards gradually destroyed her mind, making her a vegetable. And on her so-called 'good days', she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Just a few minutes ago, she had accidentally attacked my squadron of police officers telepathically."

There was a brief pause afterwards, as Matt didn't know how to tell his brother what happened.

"I... I had to shoot her in self-defense to save my squad." Matt confessed. "I'm sorry."

If Terry's mind had a mouth, it would be agape in shock right now. He didn't know how to respond to his brother's confession.

He didn't know if he should be feeling angry for killing M'gann M'orzz or to be thankful for putting her out of her decades-long misery.

Terry sighed as he made up his mind on what to do.

"I shall be the one to tell Superman what has happened to Miss Martian." Terry decided. "It's not your fault, Sergeant. I know you would have found a nonlethal solution if it was possible."

Terrence began flying away again, and activated his communicator to speak with Clark.

"Superman here." The familiar voice spoke. "Who is it?"

"It's Terry. Just found out that M'gann was killed in Gotham." Terry reported. "Officer had to shoot her to save his squadron."

"So, I guess I really am the last." A somber voice sang.

Not the last Kryptonian. But rather the last of his family.

Even though Conner and Megan never married, they were close to each other for so long, Clark essentially considered Megan to be an in-law.

Now she was gone too. The number of heroes on Earth was getting smaller every day, thanks to age, illness, or violence.

For M'gann's case, it was all three. Because of the erratic shapeshifting and telepathy as a result of her failed suicide, she was soon diagnosed as mentally ill. And as she began to grow older, her mind deteriorated as well. Whereas she was previously able to live for centuries with virtually no side-effects, her failed suicide had damaged her brain and caused her to age poorly, therefore making her a vegetable. In fact, her death at Matt's hands might be considered a mercy-kill, as she would no longer have to suffer anymore. And if there was a heaven, she and Conner would meet each other once again. Although, it might become awkward if they both looked the same as when they died. Hmm.

"Clark." Terry finally spoke.

"Yes?" Clark responded.

"I've decided that I'm going back to the past to fix what went wrong." Terry told him. "I'm going to make sure that your family doesn't die violently. I'm going to make sure that Darkseid doesn't devastate the planet. If I succeed, none of these tragedies will never happen."

"Bruce told me about your mission. I hope you're right." Clark wished.

"See you in negative fifty years." Terry said as he cut the signal.

 _At least I won't have to worry about a political backlash regarding M'gann's death._ Terry thought as he flew back to the Batcave.

* * *

 _Gotham, New Jersey; February 20, 2027 12:01 PM EST_

Bruce Wayne jolted awake from his bed in reaction to yet another nightmare. This time, it was the Joker dropping Rachel down to her death a dozen years ago.

Not even the scent of the afterglow in the bedroom that he and Diana shared could calm him down.

Turning his head towards his lower left, he saw an equally naked Diana, covered only by the sheets.

Needing to refresh, Bruce grabbed himself a pair of pants to put on and left to go get a glass of water from the adjacent bathroom.

Had he turned around, he would have seen Diana wake up in reaction out of worry for her lover.

He grabbed the glass, and turned the faucet to pour cold water.

He flipped the light switch to gaze upon in the mirror the reflection of a man who had been having too little sleep for the past three nights.

The glass finally full, Bruce turned off the water, and downed the cool liquid.

But not even half a dozen ice cubes could help the drink cool down the sweating man.

Once he put the glass down, he turned around to see Diana with a red and blue bathrobe on. Evidently, she grabbed it from the closet in the opposite side of the bedroom.

"Bruce, you had another nightmare." Diana stated, noting the times that Bruce had awoken prematurely in the middle of the night before.

"First, my parents shot, then Jason being blown up, now Rachel falling to her demise." Bruce reiterated.

Early on in Bruce's career as Batman, Rachel Dawes had been taken hostage by the Joker, and Bruce came to her rescue.

Unfortunately, the encounter resulted in her death, and the ensuing fight that ended on the streets would have ended in Joker's, had Dawes not spent her final breaths making Bruce promise her that he would never take a life.

He would have gone to a self-destructive spiral if it weren't for his going to one of Zatanna's shows later that week.

Unfortunately, their relationship had to end, following Bruce taking in Dick Grayson as his first ward, though their amicable parting probably had more to do with how their last date happened to be at the circus where Dick's parents were murdered.

"It's going to be okay, Bruce." Diana promised, with zero hint of seduction in her eyes, but rather sad concern.

Bruce smiled back, and was about to give her a gentle kiss, when the communicator implant started ringing.

"Bruce, you there?" Nightwing called.

Bruce groaned before he responded.

"Yes, Dick. What is it?" Batman asked.

"We have a problem." Dick answered, semi-ominously. "D.I. accidentally walked in on Wally and Linda's 'soap play' in the sauna's showers, and fainted as a result. He's stable, now, but we need you back on the Watchtower ASAP."

Damn it. This was why Bruce didn't want a party up there in the first place. Because he knew that Wally would somehow screw up.

"Okay, Richard." Bruce said. "I'll be right there. Just let me get in my uniform."

"Sorry if I interrupted an intimate moment between you and Diana." Dick semi-sarcastically apologized. "If it makes you feel better, Wally's call interrupted me and Kory."

An awkward pause filled the space between their next words.

"Hey, at least we have the discretion to do it inside our quarters." Dick defended.

"Fair enough. Batman out." Bruce ended the signal and smiled before giving Diana a brief peck on the lips and leaving to head towards the Batcave to equip his uniform.

* * *

 _Watchtower, Orbit; February 20, 2027 00:15_

Batman, Nightwing, and Kid Flash were now in the infirmary, wearing their uniforms, checking on D.I.

"Judging from the trauma received by falling backwards, D.I's likely out for the next week." Wally reported.

"And judging from previous incidents regarding being knocked out, it's more than likely that we might be in for a personality change from him." Dick reported.

"What is it that they say again?" Bruce sardonically asked. "'What happens in the bedroom stays in the bedroom,' I believe the saying goes. If you can't keep yourself under control, at least don't do it in the sauna's showers."

"And how many times were your love affairs on the front page for the tabloids?" Wally shot back. "I know you've got at least one illegitimate kid!"

"Those affairs were faked." Dick explained. "Bruce sent them home without bedding them, then he paid the media to spread libel about his playboy antics."

Frozen in shock, Wally's mouth was agape. Keeping his mouth shut was the only thing Bruce could do to keep himself from bursting out laughing.

Once he had proper self-control, he began speaking to Nightwing.

"Once he is freed from shock, tell him that he's on sauna cleaning duty again." Bruce ordered, alluding to the time when Wally was punished for two-timing Artemis and Jinx, though that never really took effect due to the subsequent brutality inflicted on him by Roy.

Dick chuckled at the punishment, as his mentor left.

"And by the way, I'm holding you accountable for what happened." Bruce called from the hallways.

It was Nightwing's turn for his mouth to drop in shock, as he couldn't believe that he would be blamed for something that wasn't even remotely his fault.

"I'll take responsibility over Wally's dead body!" Dick retorted. He really hoped that it would never come to that.

* * *

 _Metropolis, New Jersey; February 27, 2027 9:30 AM EST_

About a week later, Lois, Kara, and Megan started shopping for wedding dresses, as there was still the matter of the wedding that would take place at the start of spring. In addition to providing funding for the ceremony, Bruce was hiring private security contractors to protect Smallville from threats such as Luthor and Darkseid.

Megan was somewhat amused to know that her shapeshifting would be used to test how Lois would look in the various dresses.

Lois was surprised to find out that Conner didn't really take advantage of Megan's shapeshifting that often, besides in Justice League operations.

Lois's red and blue Porsche entered the shopping mall's parking lot, and the three women exited the car.

Raising the brown glasses that Clark gave her for her twentieth birthday, Kara walked casually along with Lois and Megan.

It was a really good thing that neither she or the White Martian were on the Watchtower right now, as D.I. had recently become very rude after awakening from his week-long coma just hours ago.

Clark had secretly assigned Kara to protect Lois, should Metropolis come under attack today.

Had Lois found out, she would have found it very cute how much Clark cared.

Clark was covering for Lois's shift at the Daily Planet right now, so he couldn't keep an eye on her.

Entering the clothes store of the mall, the trio of women looked around at how much clothing was for sale.

"Whoa," Kara said.

"So many dresses," Megan added. "How we ever going to find 'THE ONE' for Lois?"

"Lois, you have any ideas what you what?" Kara asked.

"Well, I have a picture in my head but..." Lois began. Megan eyes glowed briefly.

"Ah, that dress is so pretty!" Megan said. They looked at her questioningly. "I read her mind. So now that I know what it looks like I can help you find it! Come on!" She grabbed Lois' arm and they took off for one of the aisles near the back of the store.

"Um... would it be too much to ask to be clued in?" Kara called. She then ran to catch up to them. She found them in an aisle that had ballroom type wedding gowns. Megan had already given Lois at least five dresses.

"And here's one more," Megan said as she placed one more into Lois's arms. "Now you can go try them on!"

"Wow," Kara said in awe when she noticed one of the dresses on the aisle. She ran her fingers over the chest design of one of them. "SOOOO pretty!"

"Um, Kara could you give me a hand?" Lois asked. "I need some help finding the dressing room." Kara turned to look at her.

"Oh! Sure," Kara responded. "Follow me." She and Megan both guided Lois to the dressing room, which thankfully for Lois, was close by. Lois went inside and Megan and Kara waited.

"So, what was the dress she had in mind?" Kara asked.

"It was a ballroom type gown with tiny scales on the skirt part and a lacy pattern on the top and pearls on the hems... Oh, it was SO beautiful!" Megan told her.

"It's wonderful, marriage, don't you think?" Kara said. Megan nodded.

"Yes, it is," Megan responded.

"And exciting! Kind of makes you wonder who's next," Kara said.

"What are you implying?" Megan asked. Kara shrugged her shoulders.

"I was just wondering if I'm possibly going to have a cousin-in-law soon," Kara said. Megan's surprise was written all over her face and Kara giggled. Megan blushed.

"Now Kara, that's, um, well... Hey, let's see how Lois is doing?" Megan said hastily. She went over to the stall which Lois was in. "You okay in there?"

"Not really," Lois called back. "This dress is tight on my breasts and I'm having a hard time zipping it up."

"Well...try on the next one then," Megan responded. "Come out when you're ready." Megan then went back to Kara and sat down next to her.

"Soooo, you never answered my question," Kara reminded her.

"Kara, I don't know," Megan replied. "I'd like to but from what I've heard the man is supposed to ask the woman. Not the other way around."

"You have a point," Kara responded. "Can I borrow your phone?"

"Why do you want my phone?" Megan asked.

"So I can call Conner and tell him he's an idiot for not proposing to you," Kara said. Megan's jaw dropped.

"Kara!" Megan exclaimed.

"What?" Kara responded. "He is. We all know he loves you."

"Yes but..." Megan started. Then Lois walked out in one of the dresses. It was white, had shoulder-straps with pearly and lacy flowers, and had a "belt" like that at her waist with one large flower in the middle.

"So? What do you think?" Lois asked. "Cause I don't like this one."

"Same," Kara agreed.

"Yeah, it's too... simple," Megan said.

"I'll try the next one," Lois said. She went back to the stall.

"Anyways... so have you grown a pair?" Megan asked.

"Me? No, not yet," Kara answered. "I'd like to."

"Anyone in particular?" Megan asked.

"Well... there's this one boy," Kara said. Lois walked out in a different dress. "Oh... that dress is nice." Megan turned to look at her. The white dress was in a trumpet-shaped, strapless, the top was lacy, the "belt" at her waist was black, and the skirt part had two thin lacy covers.

"I like it," Megan responded. "It looks good on you."

"This isn't gonna work," Lois told them. "It's WAY too tight at the waist."

"Can't we get it modified to make it fit you better?" Kara said. Lois shook her head.

"I'm not paying for that plus the charge for JUST the dress," Lois responded. "I'll try on another one." She went back in the stalls.

"How many did you give her?" Kara asked.

"Only seven," Megan said.

"Only seven?" Kara teased.

"And she's tried on three so that means there's four left plus the one she picked," Megan told her.

"And then later this week we're coming back to get OUR dresses?" Kara said.

"Yes, since we won't have enough time to get hers and ours," Megan said. "Oh! I can't wait! It's going to be so much fun! Especially with Diana."

"Diana's joining us?" Kara questioned.

"Yes, she's one of Lois's bridesmaids," Megan said.

"Right, I forgot," Kara responded. "Lois's sister will be joining us too since she's her maid of honor."

"What's her name though?" Megan asked. "I forgot."

"I don't know," Kara said. "I don't know her family that well. Oh, here's Lois." She walked out in another white dress. It was strapless, had a plain top, a black knotted leather "belt", and was very puffy at the bottom.

"It's a bit... plain," Kara said.

"I'll go change," Lois responded. She went back into the stall.

"So that's number... four?" Kara questioned. Megan nodded. "So three more, then the one she picked?"

"Yes," Megan answered.

"Hey girls," Lois called. "How's this one?" She walked in the one she had originally picked. It had long thin lacy sleeves and collar, a plain top, thin "scales" on the skirt, and pearls on the waist "belt" and on the bottom hem.

"Whoa!" Megan and Kara said. Lois twirled in it and looked at it admiringly.

"It's perfect!" Megan exclaimed.

"Lois, you look amazing!" Kara exclaimed.

"Thank you Kara," Lois said. "And I agree. THIS is the one."

* * *

 _Metropolis, New Jersey; February 27, 2027 10:30 AM EST_

Elsewhere in the mall, but in an adjacent section to the clothes store, were a pair of young heroes at the cafe secretly ordered to keep an eye on the trio of women by Batman.

Of course, Wally had a tendency to get distracted by the opportunity to order a large quantity of food, much to Dick's chagrin.

Right now, the red-headed speedster was ordering a dozen pancakes, three sausage biscuits with egg and cheese, and orange juice.

Once he had finished that order, Nightwing just gave the counter a credit card that was connected the Watchtower's bank account, which was, for most intents and purposes, unlimited.

While Wally shoved in the multitude of food into his mouth, Dick turned to see Lois, Kara, and Megan walk out of the clothes store.

The black-haired young man discreetly pulled out his communicator to tell Bruce that "Lois, Kara, and Megan are safe."

"Good, just be ready for anything. An enemy can attack in any circumstances, even in the most peaceful settings." The growling voice warned.

Turning it off, Richard turned back to see Kid Flash barely digesting the food.

"So how did last weekend go for you and Linda?" Dick asked, curious about his best friend's love life.

"Well, since D.I. accidentally walked in on us, it quickly became a mess, if you know what I mean." Wally answered.

"I don't need to know the details of what happened there." Dick said in disgust. "What happened after last Friday night?"

"Well, we agreed that it might not be the best idea to have any more dates on the Watchtower." Wally answered. "We're still seeing each other, just don't expect Conner to play matchmaker anytime soon."

"No joke. Superman's tying the knot soon, and there's no doubt that Conner will be among the guests." Dick agreed. "Don't know if he and Megan will ever get married, though. But I doubt that will change the way in how Clark already sees her as his in-law. Can't remember whether he saw Conner as a son or a younger brother. Eh, let's just go with younger brother. That leaves Clark already seeing Megan as his sister in law."

"Yeah, about that." Wally said, suddenly getting more serious. "Seeing how they've been able to have a stable love life for years reminds me that I'm not the best boyfriend."

"Hey, don't feel bad about yourself." Dick encouraged.

"I mean, can I become a family man with Linda, or am I going to break her heart just like I did with Artemis and Jinx?"

"Wally, I am ordering you to stop." Nightwing requested, pulling rank on him. "Stop self-loathing. We need your comic relief to keep things from getting too dark."

"You're right." Kid Flash admitted. "You're right."

"We should probably get going." Dick suggested, getting up from his table.

Wally quickly followed suit, and the two friends left the cafe.

* * *

 **Next time on Second Chance, Terry finally goes back to the past, and Clark and Lois have their wedding. Will the couple be able to say "I do" before Terry enters 2027? Find out next time on Second Chance Chapter 4!**

 **Also, just one more thing. The scene where Megan was shot by police is not intended to be a commentary on recent events, so please don't interpret it in a political way.**


	5. Second Chance Message 1

Hey, guys. Bit of an update here. You've probably noticed a pattern with my release of chapters. I seem to release them every weekend. While this pattern was accidental, I must inform you of a current disruption. I had a cold this weekend, and wasn't able to work on Chapter 4. I promise you, though, I will upload it next weekend.


	6. Chapter 4

**Hey guys. I'm back. My cold has finally gotten better, and I can upload chapters on a more consistent basis. Thanks to DC Watchergirl for writing the sequence with Lois and her bridesmaids. I made some edits to the dialogue to fix continuity errors. In fact, I think I'll give her a co-writer's credit on the story's description. On another note, I feel that this is the moment of truth whether or not _Second Chance_ will become M or remain T. What do you guys think? Anyways, here is Chapter 4.**

* * *

 _Gotham, New Jersey; November 12, 2077 12:00 AM EST_

Bruce sat again in his old chair in the Batcave, solemnly pondering what Clark had just told him.

It appeared that Miss Martian was the newest addition to the list of lost comrades.

While he did not know M'gann as well as perhaps he should have, Bruce was an indirect factor in her "evolution", so to speak.

It was sixty years ago, when he urged Clark to be a better mentor to Conner, and help him grow as a person.

Coincidentally, that growing as a person helped Conner spark his relationship with M'gann.

Okay, maybe that assessment of association was stretching it, but that didn't change the fact that Bruce saw all of the League, from the humblest janitor on the Watchtower to Superman himself, as the most precious of diamonds.

Not a single one of them was considered an expendable mook, and so the loss of countless heroes and employees affected him badly.

Bruce activated the computer and opened the file that was a memorial to all of those in the League who were deceased, listed in chronological order.

He scrolled down to the bottom of the document, where the name of Shayera Hol lay.

The Thanagarian exile had died three years ago in a Metropolis nursing home.

Despite her valor in fighting the invasions by both Darkseid and her own people, her slander-imposed image of a turncoat had never truly left the public consciousness, and as a result of her tarnished reputation, fewer than two hundred people had attended her funeral.

Even Roy Harper was able to gain forgiveness and atonement. His heists always resulted in a generous amount of money donated to facilities dedicated to helping victims of domestic abuse.

Bruce guessed that Shayera never being truly forgiven was because of xenophobia, which was just completely stupid.

Clicking next to the final line of the list, Bruce pressed the ENTER key and typed "Miss Martian (M'gann M'orzz/Megan Morse)" onto the new line.

He had finished the procedure when Terry entered the cave.

"So you heard the news too, huh?" Terry asked with false indifference.

Bruce's response was not spoken. It did not need to be spoken. Both men already knew the answer to that question.

Instead, Bruce saved the updated file, and closed it.

"Now, Clark truly is the last." Bruce mourned, talking not of the Kryptonian race, but of his family, which unofficially considered M'gann to be an in-law.

"Kind of fucked up how it came to be." Terry contemplated. "At least she's together with Conner now."

Terry turned his head to look for a USB drive.

"USBs are in the crate on the left table." Bruce pointed, knowing that his son intended to put a copy of the fates of the fallen on a USB to show to the past, so as to prevent their fates from ever happening.

"Thanks." Terry said, grabbing a zip drive.

Plugging it into the computer, Bruce decided to copy the computer's entire contents onto the USB, even those more embarrassing files from when he was more than half a century younger.

Despite the three terabytes of data requiring massive amounts of space, Bruce's zip drives were specially made to hold a thousand times that quantity of space.

Of course, even though it was essentially the prototype for the now destroyed Watchtower's supercomputer, it would still take a while to transfer the data onto the zip drive.

In the meantime, Bruce and Terry could work on setting the coordinates for sending the latter back in time.

They were using a time machine that the Justice League had collected from Vandal Savage in the past, where its primary flaw was that it couldn't send anyone to a time period where they already existed.

Fortunately, as Terry hadn't even been conceived in 2027, that flaw would do little to stand in the way of their goal.

Unfortunately, they had forgotten that the time machine required large amounts of power just to be active for a short time.

Fortunately again, Bruce remembered half an hour later, just before they could activate the machine.

"Damn!" Bruce swore. "We're going to have to siphon power from the city!"

"Bruce, the effects might be dangerous for Gotham." Terry warned. "People could die because of accidents."

"Then we'll use all nonessential power to power it, but you won't have more than a few seconds to enter, so you better be prepared to enter the portal immediately." Bruce stated.

Terry was somewhat surprised at how gruff Bruce was, but accepted it as him wanting to fix what went wrong.

Running towards the computer, Terry pulled out the USB, which had finished receiving all of Bruce's files.

"I've got the files, Bruce." Terry reported.

"Good. Now get ready. And may God help you, son." Bruce wished, knowing that one way or another, this reality would be coming to an end soon.

Both men shared a brief but intense stare as they knew about the possible consequences of what they were about to do.

Finally, Bruce activated the machine, and a portal opened.

Terry entered the portal immediately, without hesitation.

* * *

 _Smallville, Kansas; March 20, 2027 7:30 AM CDT_

Bruce Wayne's private jet was now landing onto the thin landing strip that was just outside of Smallville.

In recognition of Bruce Wayne's generous donations to the town, and his friendship with her most recognized citizen, Smallville had given Bruce a dozen acres of land outside of town limits to serve as an estate in Kansas.

Of course, giving the newly engaged Clark Kent and Lois Lane the 2028 Porsche prototype that cost him 250 grand as a wedding gift didn't hurt either, and the Gotham billionaire was serving as Clark's best man at the wedding today.

Bruce exited out of the boarding ramp with Diana Prince and their luggage.

The private security contractors that Bruce had hired to protect Smallville greeted their arrival.

A handful of the League were undercover within the PSC, most notably Jason Todd, who was the ranking officer of the contractors.

In the event that Luthor, Darkseid, Brainiac, or any other villain tried to disrupt the wedding, Jason and his mercenaries would be there to tell them "fuck off, get out of here".

Director Inverse, after not getting on Bruce's nerves for a consecutive week, was invited to film the wedding in IMAX, the first time such an occasion ever happened, but unofficially, it was to monitor security to ensure the wedding would go off without a hitch. Bruce prayed D.I. would remember the real reason he was there, and not let his ego get in the way.

Supergirl, Superboy, and Miss Martian would be going as well,

Not all of the League would be attending, of course. Most of them were still on assignments across the world.

As for the Bat Family, Batgirl, Red Robin, and Spoiler were covering for Batman in Gotham, Alfred was helping Cassandra and Damian with their homework and Nightwing was supervising Wally on his last day of sauna duty, both to ensure that he didn't slack off by holding the "Shia Going Crazy" Marathon (which consisted of _Transformers_ , _Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull_ , _Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen_ , and _Transformers: Dark of the Moon_ ) or, more importantly, that he wouldn't be at the wedding and eat all of the wedding cake. It really would help save a fortune, and keep in mind that this was Bruce "I spent pocket change on the prototype of the next Porsche just to give Clark and Lois a wedding gift" Wayne. He never used the word "fortune" lightly.

"Bruce, the town is secure." Jason reported, walking besides his mentor.

"Excellent." Bruce complimented. "Station some guards inside and outside the church, but don't make their presence within too obvious."

"Yes sir." Jason nodded.

Jason ran back to the mercenaries to give them new orders.

"Surprised you're taking such strong measures to protect Clark." Diana commented.

"It's not about Clark. Most of Smallville could never come close to his power." Bruce stated. "I'm more worried about a massacre in Smallville."

Diana understood all too well about the dangers of what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object in a densely populated area.

"Come on. Let's unpack our things." Bruce said in a more lighthearted tone. "We've got a wedding to attend."

Diana was surprised but welcome at how Bruce was able to change mood that quickly.

* * *

 _Smallville, Kansas; March 20, 2027 10:30 AM CDT_

"You ready?" Lucy asked.

"Pretty much, I'm still a bit nervous though," Lois said. "Lucy, thanks for being here. It means a lot to me."

"Hey, I wasn't about to miss my own sister's wedding," Lucy responded. "Besides, it's a good excuse to come see you. I've been meaning to for a while."

"You look lovely in your dress Lois," Diana said.

"Thank you Diana," Lois replied. "You all look lovely too."

"Thank you," Kara said. She then twirled around in her dress. Her dress was a dark blue ballroom gown just as the other bridesmaids' except hers had two finger length sleeves. Diana's was strapless, Megan's was a spaghetti strap, and Lucy's had one shoulder strap. "Are we allowed to keep these after this?"

"If you paid for it then yes," Lois said. "Why?"

"Sweet, Yannick is going to love this." Kara cheered. Lucy raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, Yannick's her boyfriend, I think." Megan explained. "I encouraged her to find love herself while we were shopping for dresses."

"Yannick, as in Yannick Falsenhardt, the three-year undefeated champion of eSports." Kara clarified, sighing in admiration.

A man then entered the room, his four stars on his uniform marking him as a general in the United States' military.

"Dad!" Lois exclaimed. He hugged her.

"Lois! You look so lovely," General Lane said. "My little girl's all grown up and getting married."

"Dad, stop," Lois responded, semi-sarcastically rubbing her eyes. "I'm gonna cry."

"So how are the guys, sir?" Megan asked him.

"Conner's great. Glad you asked," he told them. She blushed. He turned to Lois. "And the groom's a bit nervous."

"Dad, you didn't give him the 'you take care of my girl or else' speech, did you?" Lois asked.

"Well... maybe," he responded. "I might have also made it an order."

"Dad!" Lois exclaimed, as Lucy laughed.

Lois turned to Lucy. "Oh don't worry Lu. When it's your turn he'll do it to your man. Then it'll be MY turn to laugh. Count on it."

"I'm looking forward to it." Lucy promised.

Lois turned back to her father, saying "And for the record, Dad, we haven't done _that_. Clark was apparently too embarrassed to do so before marriage."

Sam chuckled, but he was glad that his little girl was with someone that would never take advantage of her.

* * *

 _Smallville, Kansas; March 20, 2027 11:45 AM CDT_

Clark, Conner, and Bruce had put on their tuxedos, and were talking to pass the time waiting for the wedding to begin.

The groom was looking understandably nervous, considering how the bride's father, who was a general in the U.S. military, essentially gave him an order to never hurt his daughter.

"You're planning on starting a family tonight, huh?" Bruce asked, somewhat amused at Clark's chastity before marriage.

"Um, yeah." Clark answered, somewhat embarrassed at Bruce's question.

"I understand, you being raised right after all." Bruce snarked. "I wasn't, and look what happened to me: Rachel died, and I had a son with Talia. I won't say anything about how Conner was raised, but I'm pretty sure 'being raised right' doesn't mean shaking the Watchtower with Megan for the past eight years."

"We turned on the artificial gravity!" Conner shouted, frustrated at how Bruce would never let that one go.

"If nothing else, you humiliated Wally." Bruce complimented, referring to the time where Conner and Megan first made love and how Wally was believed to humiliate himself having sex with Artemis concurrently.

"Fair point, actually." Conner conceded. "Even if it did turn out it was fake."

"Nightwing's babysitting him, last day working on sauna cleaning." Bruce reiterated. "If he were down here, he'd eat all of the cake."

"And that's the real reason he's not here right now." Clark surmised. "Even if he wasn't on sauna duty, he'd still be stuck on the Watchtower. Whatever he did up there wouldn't interfere with the wedding."

The church bells started ringing all of a sudden, letting all three men know that it was time.

"Well, here you go, Boy Scout." Bruce said. "Time for the next step in evolution."

* * *

 _Smallville, Kansas; March 20, 2027 12:00 PM CDT_

The wedding was going underway. General Sam Lane had taken his oldest daughter down the aisle, where Lois Lane's new husband was waiting.

The priest was Father Daniel Leone, who had helped Clark out as a younger man.

Bruce Wayne and Lucy Lane were at opposite ends of the center of the sanctuary, as Father Leone officiated for Clark and Lois.

D.I. was recording the wedding live, of course, in IMAX.

Bruce was outwardly very cheerful, but he had all security personnel given a communicator that would be channeled throughout all operators, D.I. and Bruce himself.

If he needed to communicate with them while Lois and Clark were exchanging vows, he would speak subvocally at a high enough level for them to hear, but also quiet enough so the audience wouldn't be on edge.

As Father Leone asked if Lois was prepared to take Clark as her husband, a panicked voice rang in Bruce's ear.

"Bruce!" D.I. called by communicator. "I'm detecting an anomaly in the center of the sanctuary!"

"Everybody, get down!" Bruce yelled suddenly.

Nobody knew what he was talking about, but they did so immediately.

A portal appeared in the center of the sanctuary where a figure that was entirely covered in black and red fell out of, then the portal disappeared.

"What the actual fuck, man?!" D.I. shouted in frustration. "You just ruined my fucking shot!"

"Son of a bitch!" The black wearing figure shouted, upon getting up.

Before the pastor could reprimand him for swearing, Jason and a few security officers ran into the church to tranquilize the black wearing figure.

"I'm sorry for the commotion, everybody." Bruce apologized. "We might have to postpone the wedding for the time being, Clark."

"Might have to spend another five million, Bruce." Clark teased.

"I'm serious." Bruce whispered in a way that would render the lips unreadable. "The League needs to talk about this intruder."

"Apologies, Mr. Wayne." Jason said. "We should have detected this intruder. It is our failing. What should we do with him?"

"Nothing, yet." Bruce answered, curious over the vaguely familiar man. "Clark, I'm getting some déjà vu here."

Was it from the time where he, Diana, and John took a time traveling adventure to the future, an adventure that only he and John remembered?

"Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for your wasted time today, but rest assure, we will finish this ceremony in the future." Bruce announced.

The various attendees began to depart in disappointment, as Lois began to talk with Clark about the situation.

"Clark, I know your _other_ job can get in the way, but please be careful." Lois asked. "I'd hate to have to marry a pile of ashes."

Clark chuckled at the morbid joke.

"Jason, keep our friend secure until the Justice League can take care of him." Bruce requested, knowing that they would meet again on the Watchtower.

Jason nodded, and left the church, taking the stranger with him.

* * *

 _Watchtower, Orbit; March 20, 2027 12:30_

Wally was still working hard, scrubbing the floors of the sauna, under Nightwing's supervision.

Just a few more hours, and he would be home free.

Nightwing did promise that they would play video games later tonight.

Wally suddenly heard his communicator ring, in addition to Dick's.

They both received messages regarding a new prisoner that was heading their way.

"Well, today's about to get interesting, dude." Wally predicted.

"Yeah, well, I still got to supervise you." Dick chuckled. "Nothing personal. Bruce just didn't want you to eat all the wedding cake."

"Fair enough." Wally conceded, as he continued scrubbing.

* * *

 **Well, that was quite an entrance made by Terry. Stay tuned next week as Batman and Green Arrow begin interrogation of their latest prisoner. (No, it's not going to be a good cop/bad cop situation where Bruce is being an abusive parent to Terry.)**

 **And if you're reading this, Yannick, yes, I hope you become an eSports champion. (For those of you who don't know, Yannick is my friend at school.)**


	7. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, I'm back. First, I wanted to offer a dedication to Stan Lee, who passed away on Monday. Regardless of whether you prefer Marvel or DC, you cannot deny this man's impact on the past more than half a century. The underlined sections later on are used to designate files that shouldn't even exist in this timeline. Also, I've decided to keep the story "T", but I won't bother censoring the story. Just know that this story is a hard "T".**

* * *

 _Watchtower, Orbit; March 21, 2027 01:30_

A blonde archer wearing green and the Dark Knight walked to the detention area where a certain prisoner was being held.

Batman held a recording device which would record the interrogation of the prisoner.

Entering the detention area, they found Nightwing and Kid Flash standing guard in front of the cell.

Nightwing deactivated the energy field that served as the cell's door, allowing Bruce and Oliver to walk in.

Once the two heroes were inside the cell, Dick reactivated the energy field.

Bruce pulled out the recording device and activated it, while Oliver nudged the prisoner awake.

"Had a good nap?" Oliver rhetorically asked. "You've been out for the past twelve hours."

The still sleepy man muttered something that indicated that he did have a good nap.

"Now, my friend over here thinks that he might have met you before." Oliver asked. "But we need to introduce ourselves first, starting with you."

The black wearing figure was surprisingly amenable to answering questions.

"Okay, shoot."

"Who are you, exactly?" Bruce asked. "Judging from your costume design, you appear to be a futuristic Batman."

"Guess the design gave it away." The futuristic Batman sardonically noted. "Yeah, I am Batman Beyond. One of your successors."

"One of them?" Bruce wondered.

"Nightwing took over after the Apokoliptan invasion of Veteran's Day 2027." Batman Beyond clarified. "Said invasion destroyed half the planet. Broke you for decades."

"Then who are you, really?" Bruce asked, really curious. "What is your name?"

"Terry McGinnis." The figure finally answered, taking off the mask. "I'm your son."

"Who's the mother?" Oliver asked in amusement, running his fingers through his goatee. "Was it Diana, or did Bruce cheat on her?"

Bruce turned to look at the green archer in disapproval.

"Neither." Terry answered. "After the invasion, Diana had left Bruce to lead what was left of the Amazons, a race that was decimated during the invasion."

Oliver now had a look of shame, as he probably touched a nerve.

"Also, stop stroking your beard." Terry requested. "You're not Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Oliver was amazed at how a kid in an apocalyptic future would know what _Star Wars_ was.

"But I'm not his son in the traditional way." Terry clarified. "After the invasion, Amanda Waller had used Bruce's DNA that had been collected to turn my father into a genetic copy of Bruce Wayne. After me and my brother were born, Mom and Dad argued over whether or not she cheated on him, and it caused their divorce."

 _Ouch_. Oliver thought, as he sympathized for the poor man.

"Dad got killed by a corporate enforcer, which I might have fought off, if I was there with him." Terry reflected, still feeling survivor's guilt. "It led me to train under you, Bruce, and led to me becoming the Batman."

"Then why are you here?" Bruce asked. "Why aren't you in the future helping out Gotham?"

"Well, frankly, I don't want to raise a family in a world where kids are forced to read about the apocalypse in school every day." Terry answered bluntly. "Can you imagine that kind of world, where your children were forced to do so? I want to change time so that the invasion never happens. If there's no invasion, there's no bad future."

"Not necessarily." Bruce retorted. "That's not the only thing that can bring about the end of the world."

"Maybe not." Terry semi-agreed. "But maybe I can make a better future here and now."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black and red zip drive.

"What's this?" Bruce asked.

"Notes on how the world went to hell in my future, and how we can prevent that by working together." Terry answered.

"Yes. We'll fix time again." Bruce said, finally remembering the circumstances about how Terry seemed familiar.

"Bruce?" Terry asked in confusion.

"Long story." Bruce responded. "If you're right, then maybe we can find redemption together."

"I think Bruce wants the prisoner to left out." Oliver told the guards outside.

They responded by deactivating the force field.

"First, though, I think I'm going to need a shower." Terry joked. "Where are those facilities?"

"Two levels below. Showers are in the sauna." Bruce answered. "Wally can show you to them, and we have plenty of spare clothes while we get your suit washed."

"Very well. Take this zip drive. It's got three terabytes of data on it." Terry offered, handing Bruce the USB. "Might need the Question's help on it."

"Got it." Bruce agreed, taking the device.

"One last thing. I sent Bart Allen to 2024. Do you know who he is?" Terry asked.

"Yes. He's part of the Young Justice. Code name is 'Impulse'." Bruce answered. "Claims to not know who sent him, but that his purpose was to prevent the end of the world."

"Thank you." Terry sighed in relief. "He might have amnesia, but at least he's alive."

* * *

 _Watchtower, Orbit; March 21, 2027 01:45_

Bruce and the Question were now going through the three terabytes of data that Terry gave them.

"I know it took you days to go through this amount of data once." Bruce reiterated. "Of course, you didn't use the Justice League facilities when you discovered the Earth where Clark became a tyrant."

"Turned out to be for nothing." Question recalled. "The Superman on that Earth was not like the one on ours."

"Thank Zeus for that." Bruce stated.

"Spending too much time with the Amazon again?" The faceless detective accused, noting how Bruce's terminology was gradually incorporating Greek mythology.

"Perhaps." Bruce answered. "But if we wish to talk about valued friends, why don't we discuss Huntress?"

Getting the hint, Vic shut up.

Fortunately, the problem here wasn't that the data was encrypted, but rather the sheer size of the data.

Evidently, many of the files they had gone through weren't just premonitions, but everything the League had done, even that sex tape Green Arrow and Black Canary made.

Apparently, the files were organized by date modified, instead of alphabetical order, which begged the Question to ask Batman why not reorganize them into alphabetical order.

"Why don't we just reorganize them alphabetically?" Vic asked.

"Whenever I make my files, I do it by number." Bruce answered. "Keeps them in chronological order, which is just as well, so the presentation later on isn't jumbled."

"A fair point." The faceless detective conceded.

Reaching the first file that read "March 20, 2027" in the "Date Modified" column, Bruce found that it was just logs of the Boy Scout's wedding.

Then it started getting interesting; in the column of "March 23, 2027", which was more than a little weird considering that day hadn't come to be just yet, Bruce found a recording of the Founding Members' meeting.

He pressed "Play", and the recording started playing.

It was in the Watchtower's chamber for the Seven, where Bruce, Clark, Diana, Arthur, J'onn, Hal, and Barry were seated.

"Thank you all for coming, today." Clark greeted happily. "I have some wonderful news to share."

"He's not usually this chipper." Hal noted to Barry.

"He did just get married." The blonde speedster defended. "I remember the ecstasy of when I got married to Iris."

"Alright, cut the chatter, so Clark can share the news." Bruce ordered.

"This morning, Lois and I went to the doctor, and we discovered that she's pregnant with twins!" Clark announced.

"Well, I'll be damned." Hal snarked. "Most pregnancies aren't detected this early."

"Harold, please shut up." Aquaman commanded. "This is a cause for celebration."

"Congratulations, Clark." Bruce applauded. "You earned this honor."

"How did they find out that quickly, though?" Barry asked, still curious.

"Because I was the one to detect the two lives inside of Lois." J'onn revealed.

Bruce hit "Pause" on the video player, and contemplated on if it was the right thing to postpone the wedding.

Going through the rest of the recording, he found that there was little else noteworthy, except that his alternate-self offered to be the twins' Godfather, and continued going through the files until "March 31, 2027", where there was a failed mission regarding Superboy.

Opening the file, he read the contents of the mission report.

"Damn it. Conner was captured on yesterday's mission to one of Luthor's facilities. He was grabbed by one of the security systems and dragged beneath a closing blast door, screaming at the rest of the team to run. Megan was devastated. We are planning a rescue mission already to the LexCorp facility just outside the Metropolis suburbs. Superman insists on going to make sure that his "brother" is alright."

Apparently this was the prologue of how things were going to go to hell in Terry's future.

Opening a file on "April 1, 2027", Bruce stared in shock at the contents, wishing it was a bad April Fool's Day joke.

"How did it end up like this? Clark's dead! And Conner with him! Luthor transformed Superboy into a Kryptonian monster! That monster started a rampage in the Metropolis suburbs. A lot of good people were lost today because of Luthor, both soldier and civilian. We were fortunate to get most of the people out of there, but Clark paid the ultimate price in sacrificing himself to weaken Doomsday. Conner's consciousness then reemerged to coerce Megan to kill him with a shotgun loaded with Kryptonite. Miss Martian is a total wreck right now, the natural consequences of having to kill one's significant other to prevent more lives from being lost. This was no April Fool's Day joke. And Luthor has gotten away with basically everything. That son of a bitch even had the audacity to show up at Superman's funeral. I was barely able to prevent myself from socking him in the jaw, but I promise you, Clark, you shall be avenged."

Bruce was now shedding multiple tears at how the alternate future Bruce looked like he was going to go off the deep end, though given what happened, the only one who could blame him was himself.

Deciding to take a break from analyzing files, he gestured Question to take over.

Terry was right in saying that the world would be going to hell if Luthor wasn't stopped, but there wasn't enough evidence to prove the latter's guilt yet.

Perhaps a reassignment was in order.

Bruce returned to his quarters, where he sat on his bunk to contemplate on what might or might not have been averted.

* * *

 _Watchtower, Orbit; March 21, 2027 01:50_

After fifteen minutes in the shower, Terry McGinnis was fresh again, wearing an even fresher change of clothes consisting of a brown jacket, black shirt, and jeans. Basically his everyday attire when he wasn't Batman.

While redressing, Terry contemplated on whether or not his soon-to-be efforts would actually change his future, or if they just created an alternate timeline. Even if the latter was true, he would still keep on fighting to make it better, so he wouldn't die for nothing.

Once he had finished work here, he and Bart would try to return to the future, unless the time travel to the past was a one way trip.

Walking to the computer room that Bruce and Question were working on, he was surprised to see Bruce passing by, apparently unable to notice his son walking by him.

 _Must have seen some of the footage._ Terry mused.

Entering the computer room, the futuristic visitor found the Question going through the data.

It would be interesting interacting with the man that helped clean house in Hollywood nearly ten years back.

That was, after all, his application form into the Justice League.

"Batman told me about you." Vic greeted. "Says that you are to be trusted."

"Well, tell him I said thanks." Terry responded appreciatively.

"He also said that I am to assist you in any way possible." Question spoke, almost ignoring Terry's statement. "So how may I assist you?"

"You can assist me by continuing to load the files onto the computer." Terry finally answered. "The world needs to know that Luthor will cause the Earth's devastation."

"That part we agree on." Question said. "As does much of the world. The problem is that money and power is a quality that Luthor has a high quantity of. His enormous political connections make him too powerful a tool to disavow, and his dozens of dummy bank accounts make him financially untouchable."

"Well, once we reveal the truth to the world, money and power won't mean shit." Terry nodded. "That son of a bitch has evaded the consequences of his actions for too long, and once we display the irrefutable evidence, and destroy his political connections and secondary sources of income, he'll never pose a threat again, let alone become a god."

"Apparently, your presentation is later this afternoon. All of the Justice League's operations are grinding to a halt because of that." Question reported. "You should be so proud of yourself."

Terry chuckled at the irony that he might be inadvertently increasing crime, but as long as Earth was saved from Darkseid, by all means.

No, now that line of thought was just being selfish. No averted invasion was worth a lot of collateral damage.

"Carry on, then." Terry ordered. "And keep up the good work."

"I'll try making it a priority." Question responded.

Terry looked for another chair to sit down in to take a nap, as he would be giving a presentation about his future in at least ten hours, and it would not be fitting for the presenter to doze off while giving the presentation.

Finally finding another chair, he sat down, and closed his eyes, but did not fall asleep.

Internally, he groaned at the reality that the Question's admittedly loud typing did make it hard to fall asleep.

But even though he had finished taking a twelve hour sleep, it still wasn't a good idea to stay up for the next ten hours waiting for a presentation that might take hours.

Maybe he could get a few hours of sleep after all.

Soon enough, he did fall asleep, though his snoring wasn't as loud as Question's typing.

And this dream was more of a flashback than anything; the day he confessed his identity to Dana.

* * *

 _Gotham, New Jersey; May 19, 2067 5:30 PM EDT_

It was the fifth anniversary of Terry McGinnis and Dana Tan's relationship, and the former felt that he had to confess to his girlfriend why he kept standing her up.

It certainly wasn't Melanie, not anymore.

They walked in Gotham City Park, one area that was untouched by industry and a reminder of better days forty years ago.

Finding a bench to sit down on, Terry decided to talk to Dana about his secret job as Batman.

"Dana, you've probably noticed the past few years that I haven't always been there when I was supposed to be." Terry started. "I just wanted to let you know why. The truth is that, well, I'm Batman."

There was a pause for a minute as Dana was evidently was taking it all in.

"Yeah, kind of shocking, I know." Terry admitted. "Even Mom and Matt didn't believe it when I told them."

"Actually, I think a part of me always knew, but it was subconscious." Dana stated. "That part grew when you kissed me in the rain."

"Yeah, that wasn't my finest hour." Terry confessed self-mockingly. "I mean, I moved in too closely too soon before you could remove the leather."

"If it makes you feel better, you were still a good kisser." Dana complimented. "That was how I slowly figured out that it was you."

Terry chuckled. "Well, at least now you don't have to worry about where I am from now on."

"Indeed." Dana replied, pulling him in for a kiss.

The flashback slowly faded away as Terry awoke from his nap.

* * *

 _Watchtower, Orbit; March 21, 2027 02:00_

"Wake up." A monotone voice requested. "I need your help to decrypt the files."

Great. Nap time was over. Reminded Terry of his high school days where he only got a few hours of sleep a night at most, due to his nighttime patrols of Gotham.

* * *

 **Okay, guys. That was great. Next time, expect Terry to share to the entire Justice League about the bad future, and learn how disappointed Terry is in their squabbles.**


	8. Chapter 6 Part 1

**Bad news, guys. Even though I was on Thanksgiving break, I didn't utilize my spare time wisely enough, and thus, I'm going to have to split Chapter Six in two parts to meet my weekend deadline. It's okay if you're still disappointed, but know that as soon as I'm finished with Part 2, I will upload it. A/N: The underlined segments are used to designate records from Terry's future, so as I wouldn't have to keep dividing the text.**

* * *

 _Watchtower, Orbit; March 21, 2027 15:00_

The entirety of the Justice League were now assembled in a large chamber within the Watchtower where Terry would be presenting the details of the bad future.

Terry was standing in front of a giant screen where the video files and holographic historical records would be displayed to show what to prevent from ever happening.

"Thank you all for coming today." Bruce greeted, beginning the proceedings. "A visitor from the future has come with information that can help us prevent disaster this Veteran's Day."

"What's happening on Veteran's Day?" Kyle Rayner asked, happening to share Terry's voice.

"Let's just listen, Kyle." Donna responded. "Let's not worry yet."

"Okay." Terry started. "The future I came from had a catastrophic invasion this Veteran's Day by Darkseid and Apokalips."

"Should we worry now?" Kyle asked his girlfriend.

"I believe we should." Donna whispered back.

"Okay, let's start from the beginning." Terry said. "Yesterday, I interrupted the wedding of Clark Kent and Lois Lane when I arrived from the future."

Jason nodded in response to that assessment, still remembering the tranquilizers that put Terry to sleep for at least half a day.

"In the timeline where Clark and Lois's wedding was uninterrupted, they consummated their marriage later that night. And three days after that, they discovered that Lois was pregnant with twins. The Justice League congratulated Clark on his success, and Bruce offered to be the Godfather. A week after that, though, Conner was captured on a mission to one of LexCorp's facilities, and was transformed into a monster called Doomsday, its sole purpose to kill Superman, and, well, I guess I'll just show the footage." Terry reiterated.

Terry moved to the computer and played the holographic record that documented the deaths of Clark and Conner Kent.

The record opened with the date and time that read " _Metropolis, New Jersey; March 31, 2027 2:30 PM EDT_ ".

The holographic record showed the Founding Seven in combat with a being that looked like a monster from ancient Kryptonian mythology in the ruins of various Metropolis suburbs, where many corpses of soldier and civilian alike lay, evidently victims of the carnage unleashed by Doomsday.

"Bruce, get out of there!" Clark ordered. "You're going to have to fire a Kryptonite missile here!"

"You'll be at ground zero!" Bruce retorted, not wanting to kill his longtime best friend.

"I know, but at least Conner won't die alone!" Clark responded, still feeling pity for Conner that was somewhere within Doomsday.

"Clark, get down!" Bruce warned, noting Doomsday was right behind him.

Clark just threw the monster back with his right hand without looking.

"I know that there are some soldiers that had some anti-Kryptonian weaponry." Clark suggested. "Try finding some. I'm going to keep Doomsday distracted."

As Superman charged back towards Doomsday, Bruce ran to look anything that might incapacitate Doomsday without killing either Conner or Clark.

As he found some leaked Kryptonite from a grenade that was unexploded, he pulled out one of his batarangs to place some of the harmful material on his weaponry, hopefully not enough to prove fatal to Clark.

As the green matter laced the projectile, Miss Martian ran to Bruce.

"Miss Martian, get out of here!" Bruce ordered. "This is no place for you!"

When she disobeyed those orders, Bruce reititerated them in a more empathetic way.

"Listen, I want to help Conner, too." Bruce said. "But running into a warzone isn't the best way. Perhaps when he is incapacitated, you can reason with him."

"I can't make contact with him." M'gann reported.

"Damnation." Bruce quietly swore, as he discovered that he might have to kill him.

"Bruce! I can't keep him under control forever!" Clark shouted. "If you're going to take him down, do it now!"

Bruce threw the Kryptonite-laced batarang at the combatants, but it proved to be no use against Doomsday.

"Bruce, get M'gann out of there!" Clark ordered. "Call in that missile now!"

Trying to avoid such a measure, Bruce impulsively threw the grenade at the combatants, even as Doomsday stabbed Superman with his blade arm.

The grenade exploded, but Clark was already dead, being stabbed by solid Kryptonite.

Doomsday was little better, though, being brought to his knees.

"No." Bruce whispered, horrified by the fact that he might have just killed his best friend.

He and M'gann ran towards the duo of bodies, where the Kryptonian lay dead.

Conner's mind, however, was finally able to communicate with M'gann telepathically.

 _Stop!_ M'gann heard her boyfriend call. _I'm in control. All the damage caused by the Kryptonite finally released the controls that kept my mind locked away. Only temporary, though._

Bruce didn't share any mind control abilities, but he was able to determine that Doomsday, or rather Conner, was not a threat for the moment, but that might not be the case soon.

 _What do you want me to do?_ M'gann asked.

 _There's a shotgun nearby that's loaded with Kryptonite shells._ Conner pointed towards a soldier's fallen weapon. _I'm going to continue to be a threat until you kill me._

M'gann ran to the dead soldier, reading his nametag that showed "PVT. L. JENKINS" on his uniform.

Grabbing the shotgun, M'gann walked hesitantly towards Conner.

 _The safeguards for my mind are already rebooting. There's nothing you can do. Kill me!_

 _No, Conner! We can help you._ M'gann argued.

 _M'gann, I'm already a monster. The world isn't going to accept me for what just happened here today. Pull the trigger and fire the shotgun._ Conner begged.

"Before you do so, ask him if Clark was already dead when the Kryptonite grenade exploded." Bruce requested, remorseful over the possibility of committing what was essentially fratricide.

 _Bruce didn't kill Clark. I did._ Conner informed his girlfriend in remorse. _I love you_.

 _I love you, too._ M'gann stated as she pulled the trigger, closing her eyes.

The Kryptonian monster's head exploded, and Conner had finally died at peace, but M'gann was now an absolute emotional wreck, the realistic response of having just killed one's significant other to save others.

The M'gann in this timeline was by this point now weeping in horror and sadness, prompting Conner to comfort her.

Knowing that there should probably be a recess to give the White Martian some respite, especially after Terry found her alternate self's corpse in what just felt like yesterday.

"Okay, I think it's time to take a break." Terry announced, also observing that many others were weeping at Clark's death in the alternate timeline.

Conner took Megan outside of the assembly chamber to calm her down gently.

 _M'gann, it's going to be okay. It's not going to happen. Terry's already changed the timeline, so neither of us will be doomed._

Conner knew that most of this words were bullshit, but at this point, he was doing anything to comfort his girlfriend so that the poor girl wouldn't commit suicide.

Megan didn't even bother responding in either words or telepathy, as she buried her head in Conner's chest.

The emotional moment was cut short when D.I. spoke behind them mockingly.

"You ever hear the Tragedy of M'gann M'orzz the White?" D.I. rhetorically asked, referring to _Revenge of the Sith_.

"D.I., I swear to God!" Conner suddenly shouted, angered that Director Inverse was intentionally making an insensitive comment so soon after one of the revelations and knowing that M'gann's feelings could be hurt further. "In a trunk! Off a cliff!"

Conner gave D.I. a bloody nose in retaliation for mocking Megan.

"You know, I've always been curious over why you always wore those sunglasses." Conner wondered. "Shall we see if the reason is photosensitivity?"

 _Conner, what are you doing?_ M'gann asked her boyfriend.

 _Did we not just hear what happened? This asshole made an insensitive comment right after we watched you have an absolute breakdown._

Conner slowly removed the sunglasses, and turned Inverse's eyes towards the bright light above, as the latter was in obvious discomfort.

Nightwing exited the assembly chamber, and deescalated the situation from getting any worse.

"Enough." Richard calmly ordered, as he retrieved the sunglasses and put them back on D.I.'s head.

"D.I., please don't make insensitive comments." Nightwing said. "Conner, we don't engage in torture here."

"Yes, sir." Both men responded.

"Good." Dick said. "How are you, M'gann? Feeling any better?"

"Not really." She confessed. "D.I. did make an insensitive comment, and Conner was rather violent just now."

"Just get a cold glass of water, and everything will be fine." Nightwing ordered. "None of the stuff you just saw is going to happen."

Miss Martian obeyed said order, and headed for the water fountain.

"Since you're dead by the point of the demonstration, I don't think that you need to be here any longer." Nightwing advised to Conner. "And M'gann is going to need your help to get through this."

"I don't know." Conner thought. "I just reacted violently towards D.I. mocking the tragedy."

"I kind of deserved it, though." D.I. admitted.

"No matter how angry you can be, I know one thing: you could never raise a finger against her." Nightwing said. "That's how you two will make it through this madness."

"That's right." Superboy realized. "Our relationship was never tumultuous."

"Just help her out." Dick encouraged. "We're going to need to be calm these next couple of days."

Conner left, as Dick took D.I. back to the assembly chamber, as their fates weren't yet revealed.

"Apparently, Miss Martian and Superboy aren't joining us for this next excerpt from the alternate timeline." Terry mused.

He played a news file that was live on " _April 8, 2027; 6:00 PM EDT_ ".

"Breaking news!" Perry White announced as he appeared on the screen. "A paramilitary organization of unknown origin and motivations have just firebombed Smallville. The town was annihilated within minutes, and there are currently no reported survivors."

Superman's face went pale in shock and sadness at another tragedy of Terry's timeline.

"Add to that, the Daily Planet's starring reporter Lois Lane-Kent, recently married to Clark Kent, was found shot outside her apartment." Perry continued. "She was currently carrying her and Clark's twin children."

"Oh my God." Clark whispered, almost not caring at using the Lord's name in vain.

Terry continued to show newspaper clippings of xenophobic protests calling for the ousting of the Atlanteans, the Martians, and the Themyscirans, then news stories of Carol Ferris being murdered and the death of the Flash.

"If I had the proper paperwork to prove Bruce Wayne to be my legal father, I would give my inheritance to the lucky person who guesses the person behind all of these incidents." Terry rhetorically said, knowing that everyone already knew that it was Luthor.

Terry played another holographic record, this time a record of the Joker's death, dated around " _Gotham, New Jersey; November 4, 2027 12:00 AM EDT_ ".

Terry paused the record before providing context.

"Two weeks before this time and date, Tim went missing while on patrol in Gotham City." Terry reported. "Therefore, Bruce, Barbara, Jason, and Richard went on a search for him until they reached the end of the trail within the first Arkham Asylum."

The holo record was resumed to show Batman, Nightwing, Batgirl, and Red Hood entering the abandoned asylum, and then cut to show them meeting Joker, Harley Quinn, and a mutilated Tim Drake transformed to be both physically and mentally like the Joker.

Apparently, Joker and Harley wanted to start some sort of "family", so they kidnapped Tim to "adopt" him. A fight inevitably broke out, and despite her efforts, Batgirl was unable to save Harley Quinn from falling to her doom. Inside the ancient facility, the Joker showed Batman a sick slide show of Tim's transformation, which resulted Bruce nearly tearing the Joker in two, until the latter provided a distraction by cutting Bruce's side, leaving Tim to shoot Batman.

However, Tim broke free of the Joker's surgery, and just as Joker was about to kill him in retaliation, Nightwing knocked him out, he and Red Hood returning from being busy with the Joker's goons.

When Batgirl returned to the group, they briefly discussed on how Tim would never go on any other assignments again.

The discussion was cut short, though, when Joker, having regained consciousness, pulled out his gun and fired at Batman, but Barbara intercepted the shot, resulting in her paralyzed.

Jason fired a revolver at Joker to kill the son of a bitch.

"Yeah. The Joker was hired by Luthor to psychologically break you, Bruce." Terry revealed, the Joker evidently claiming the idea as his own. "You only found out that information when you went to Camp Omega, which is basically the last holorecord I'm going to show you guys."

"Last?" Bruce asked. "What about the invasion?"

"The holorecord dealing with Camp Omega is expanded to the invasion." Terry clarified. "Long story short, M'gann, who didn't obey the exile to Mars edict pushed forward by Luthor, heard rumors of Superman being alive, and tried to rescue him, but unfortunately got herself captured. Oliver contacted you from the Watchtower to go to Camp Omega which was located in the site of Superman and Doomsday's tragic battle."

Terry played the audio record of Bruce and Oliver's transmission.

"Bruce, you there?" Oliver asked.

"I'm here, what is it?" Bruce responded.

"M'gann went on a mission just outside of Metropolis, Superman's final resting spot." Oliver explained. "LexCorp was doing experiments with his corpse in a laboratory on the site where he and Conner died. M'gann tried to go retrieve the body to give Clark a proper burial, but got herself captured instead."

"And judging from our decreasing membership in recent months, I'm the only one that you can send." Bruce deduced.

"Correct. Everyone else is on station due to an upcoming U.N. inspection." Oliver answered. "They want to make sure we haven't gone off the deep end because of Superman's passing."

"I'll rescue M'gann, and Clark's body." Bruce volunteered. "The least that the boy scout deserves is a proper burial. He spent years devoting his life to this world, and now it's time this world did something for him, even if it is posthumously."

"Agreed, Bruce." Oliver concurred.

"I'll take Nightwing and Red Hood to Camp Omega." Bruce said before cutting the comm.

"None of them knew it at the time, but this marked the beginning of the end in more ways than one." Terry stated after the recording stopped playing. "It was the beginning of Darkseid's invasion, and it was the beginning of Bruce's downward spiral."

"Downward spiral into what?" Bruce inquired. "Killing? Becoming the villain?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Terry promised. "It's just fortunate that M'gann isn't here to see what happened to her when she was captured in this timeline."

Terry played another holorecord, which was several hours long, starting at " _Metropolis, New Jersey; November 11, 2027 5:30 AM EST_ ".

The holorecord started showing a Watchtower shuttle landing at Camp Omega, and the three occupants planning their attack strategy.

"Once we get inside, we're more than likely going to be noticed." Bruce predicted. "Therefore, we respond with just-below maximum prejudice."

Jason was evidently getting an itchy trigger finger.

"Bruce, you haven't recovered from last week, have you?" Nightwing asked in concern.

"Barbara and Tim need to recover more than me." Batman retorted. "It's why it's just three on this mission. I'm done endangering children's lives."

"That's a start." Jason darkly noted.

"Non-lethal rounds only, Jason." Bruce ordered. "Whatever these scumbags have done to M'gann, we have to be better than them."

Terry paused the footage, and scoffed ironically.

"Yeah, well, that wasn't going to happen." The black-haired man noted. "Not after they found M'gann."

The footage fast-forwarded to the part where they found M'gann, skipping over a montage of brutal but unfatal takedowns of the Camp Omega security.

The trio finally found the White Martian, injured, with tubes and stitches in her body.

"Oh my god." Bruce whispered in horror and righteous anger.

Jason was really wanting to kill the doctors who did this, orders be damned.

"M'gann, it's me." Bruce greeted, holding her head gently. "I'm here to get you out of here."

The alien could only nod numbly, and her telepathic thought was only slightly less impaired.

 _Bruce, Luthor is going_ to...

"Shhh." Bruce interrupted. "It's going to be alright now. You're going to be safe."

"Bruce, we can't relocate her yet." Dick observed. "We have to disconnect all of this machinery from her."

"Do it as painlessly as possible." Bruce ordered. "We're going to get her back home safely."

"What about the personnel, boss?" Jason asked, really asking for permission to unleash hell.

"Authorization has been lifted to maximum prejudice." Bruce permitted.

"What?" Dick asked in shock, surprised that Bruce would be condoning murder. But even as he uttered that single word, he understood the disgust that he shared with Bruce and Jason for these thugs who tortured M'gann.

"Thank you, sir." Jason responded, ignoring Dick, and loaded his revolvers with far more lethal bullets.

"I'm going to find Clark." Bruce said before leaving. "No one's getting left behind tonight."

"Bruce, it's 5:45 in the morning." Dick corrected.

"My point still stands: no one gets left behind." Bruce reiterated from the shadows.

The footage then showed Bruce fighting his way through the facility, and finding various logs that Clark had been revived from the dead.

Even though joy had returned from his best friend being revealed to have been alive, it was quickly replaced by worry at how a revived Superman might be affected by the knowledge that his family was killed in his absence.

Sure enough, Clark had been tricked into fighting Bruce by Luthor, who had left the compound just moments before.

A deceived Superman was on the offensive with Batman barely holding on.

"Clark! It's me, Bruce!" Batman shouted, trying to calm the boy scout down.

The Kryptonian kept hitting back, and Bruce had to return punches.

* * *

 **Cliffhanger! Yeah, I know, it's not finished yet, but I will do so soon.**


	9. Chapter 6 Part 2

**Okay, this is Part 2 for Chapter 6. I'm going to be taking a two-week break from posting chapters for Second Chance, so don't expect to see any chapters until at least December 7. Because I've spent so much time dedicated to this story that I've gotten so invested in, I fear that my grades have begun to suffer. It's okay if you guys feel disappointed. I'll love you anyway.**

 **Thanks to DC Watchergirl for Beta Testing.**

* * *

Terry paused the holorecording, and noted with some irony, "Yet another superhero showdown that no one really wants to see."

Terry resumed the footage, and the fight continued.

Batman dodged a trio of blows, and decided to do a risky maneuver.

Instead of fighting back, he took off his cowl, to reveal the face of Bruce Wayne, who served as best man at Clark's wedding.

Superman, finally recognizing who he was fighting, finally stopped, and looked around in wonderment over what he had almost just done.

"Bruce, we've got M'gann onboard, but the Watchtower's under attack!" Dick called on the communicator. "The U.N. inspection was a sham; a front for Luthor's forces!"

"Damn, we're on our way!" Bruce responded. "Clark, we've got to go!"

The revived Kryptonian obeyed his friend and followed the running man.

The Watchtower shuttle was under siege by mercenaries, which were being held off by Red Hood's expert marksmanship skills.

"Start the engines, and let's get the hell out of here!" Bruce ordered Jason.

The gunslinger nodded and all three men boarded the shuttle.

 _Damnation. I thought that Cassie and Damian would be safe on the Watchtower._ Bruce internally worried as the shuttle flew out of Camp Omega.

When they reached orbit, the space station wasn't a pretty sight. Fires were everywhere and there were boarding pods that marred its hull.

"Green Arrow, this is Batman!" Bruce called on the communicator. "We're almost in the hangar! Where are you?"

"Same place, Bruce." Oliver called. "Luthor's mercenaries got one hell of a body count. Think they got Cassandra."

 _No. Not her too. Why do everyone that's connected to me have to suffer?_

"Bruce, are you still there?" Oliver asked. "Should I give you a full casualty list?"

"We will kill them all." Bruce answered, referring to any mercenaries under Luthor's employment. "No mercy."

Nightwing looked back at his mentor, and realized that Bruce had gone off the deep end right at that moment.

The shuttle landed in the hangar, where the other heroes and employees were evacuating onto the shuttles.

Bruce exited his shuttle, and grabbed an assault rifle from a mercenary he beat to death.

He began firing indiscriminately on anyone who wasn't Justice League or Watchtower staff.

By his own estimates, he killed almost six dozen men by the time Oliver dragged him back onto the shuttle.

The half-dozen of shuttles had barely escaped the hangar when it was destroyed by debris, and the Watchtower was little more than a gargantuan meteor that burned up upon entering the atmosphere.

Oliver hit the wall of the shuttle they were in out of frustration with how they were played like a damn fiddle.

 _Bruce!_ M'gann finally spoke telepathically. _Luthor has the Mother Boxes! He's going to use them to summon the forces of Apokolips!_

 _No, hasn't Luthor had enough success?_ Bruce asked rhetorically.

"Contact all survivors!" Bruce ordered Oliver. "Tell them that Apokolips is about to invade!"

As the news became widespread among the survivors that Darkseid was coming, Bruce contemplated over how he didn't see Zatanna among the survivors.

While their relationship was never that long, they had always remained friends ever since he adopted Dick Grayson. Bruce would truly miss her like he had missed Rachel.

Speaking of ex-lovers, he realized that Diana needed to know what was happening.

"Dick, see if you can contact Donna!" Bruce ordered! "The Amazons need to know what's going to be happening within minutes!"

"I'll take over the piloting for you, Dick." Jason volunteered as Dick contacted Donna via communicator.

None of that seemed to matter within a few minutes, though, as an enormous boom tube appeared in Earth's atmosphere above the shuttles that were no longer in orbit.

Millions of Parademons started to appear, and some had, whether accidentally or deliberately, rammed into the shuttle that Bruce was on.

"Hold on!" Jason shouted. "We're going down!"  


The shuttles started spiraling towards Metropolis, and crashed in the downtown area.

Bruce was knocked unconscious by the impact, but the other occupants were luckier.

The holorecord then continued to show various footage all over the world of the massacre that was taking place: the forces of Apokolips, combined with Brainiac, LexCorp, the Yellow Lantern Corps, General Zod, and Bruce's rogues gallery, were mercilessly taking billions of lives. Men, women, children, animals, the evil did not discriminate in picking their targets.

In the real world, Bruce was barely keeping his anger and horror in at what happened in the alternate timeline.

"Terry, stop it." He ordered his son. "I think we've seen enough."

Terry obeyed, but had more to say.

"Bruce, the Battle of Earth was a worldwide massacre on a scale never seen in history." Terry recollected. "You guys did end up winning, but at a high cost."

A clip of Supergirl charging towards a LexCorp airship was shown, as she was terminated by a superlaser that evidently had Kryptonite qualities.

"So I guess I really was the last of Krypton." Clark said mournfully.

A clip of Damian dying in Bruce's arms as the latter was being captured by the League of Assassins and LexCorp played.

"How many of my children did I lose in this future?" Bruce asked, as he remembered that Cassandra was among the casualties.

Ra's al Ghul was shown shooting his daughter in the head when Talia insisted on stopping this madness.

"Okay, what did Bruce do to deserve all of this personal pain?" Dick asked.

Hal Jordan, as a Yellow Lantern, realized thanks to John Stewart that he was on the wrong path, and self-destructed his ring to destroy himself and Sinestro.

"At least I went out like a badass." Hal boasted, trying to hide his pain on the events that transpired in the alternate timeline.

Catwoman was evacuating civilians that would have been caught in the superlaser, but wound up being disintegrated herself.

"No." Bruce whispered somberly. "Not Selina."

Artemis Crock was killed as a result of Darkseid crushing her head in retaliation for trying to snipe him.

"Doesn't look like she made it." Wally mused. "Neither did Jinx, come to think of it."

Roy Harper destroyed a squadron of Parademons with a hand grenade, while trying to buy Wally time to escape.

"Can't believe I ended up dying for Wally." Roy noted with skepticism.

A post-battle clip showed Queen Hippolyta and Donna Troy to be among the many deceased Amazons.

"Guess we aren't immortal after all." Diana said in shock.

Vixen, Hawkman, Black Canary, and Huntress were able to destroy Brainiac, despite being mortally wounded.

"And this final clip is basically the final moments of the battle." Terry started, before somberly playing it.

The Batwing was shown heading to Luthor's airship, and carried Nightwing, Red Hood, Guy Gardner, Booster Gold, and Blue Beetle.

"Okay, gentlemen." Superman briefed via communicator. "We've got to get Bruce off of the airship before Colonel Trevor's Monkeyfighter Squadron does a bombing run on the ship."

"We'll get it done." Guy promised.

"Good. The knowledge Bruce has is vital to rebuilding Earth's infrastructure." Clark reminded.

The link was cut off when the Batwing was hit.

"Everybody, hang on!" Dick shouted as the plane crashed into the airship.

Fortunately, the landing left the Batplane relatively intact, and could be relatively usable after a few minutes of repair was done.

Unfortunately, Jason took an injury in the impact.

"Todd, are you okay?" Guy asked with some gruffness. "Your Dad's the key to saving Earth's ass, and Grayson over here is fixing our only ticket off this ship."

Jason was able to get up, and grabbed his revolvers.

"Alright, let's go!" Blue Beetle shouted.

"I'm going to save Batman today!" Booster stated with pride.

"Cut the chatter." Guy commanded. "This is a rescue op. No heroics."

The quartet made it through the ship with minimal resistance, and reached the bridge guns blazing.

A weakened Bruce was currently fighting Luthor to little avail.

The corporate mogul had drugged himself to make him effectively unbeatable.

The quartet attack Luthor, but the latter was able to counterattack, severely wounding Jason in the process.

"Fools." Luthor gloated. "If I cannot have an Earth with the aid of Darkseid, then I shall destroy it instead."

He raised a fist to deliver the killing blow to Jason.

"This shall be Batman's punishment for not-"

Luthor was interrupted when a sharp electrified metal blade ran through his head, causing blood to burst and his head to explode.

"Burn in hell, you son of a bitch." Bruce said as he pulled out the blade.

"You killed him." Ted Kord observed.

"Yeah. That's what happens when I've had a bad day." Bruce said. "Unless you can somehow atone for destroying the superlaser controls so that it can't be shut down, he completely deserved it."

"Guys, bad news." Trevor called via communicator. "All my squadron is gone except for me. And I don't have enough to send this airship to hell."

"You've got to destroy it somehow." Guy shouted. "Luthor programmed the superlaser to fire indefinitely unless the airship is destroyed."

"That's why I'm going to ram the bridge." Trevor said. "You've got only a few minutes to leave so you better get out of here now."

"I was just thinking the same thing!" Guy agreed as he cut the signal.

The Green Lantern grabbed Bruce and flew him back to the Batwing, where Nightwing would have hopefully finished repairs.

Blue Beetle and Booster Gold carried Jason back as well, as there was nothing left to be done here.

Unfortunately, the Batwing was again under siege by the remaining mercenaries, and a grenade was launched at them.

Bruce and Jason were knocked out momentarily, as Guy got them back on their feet.

"Bruce, you've got to go!" Guy urged. "Make sure that the world is rebuilt!"

"I didn't leave Clark or M'gann behind!" Bruce argued. "I'm not about to leave anyone else!"

They narrowly avoided a rocket-propelled grenade, at which Bruce shot the man who fired it.

"Fine, but if you're not right behind me, I'm going to kill you." Bruce shouted as he gently grabbed Jason to get back to the Batwing.

Booster Gold was now killed, and Blue Beetle was breathing his last handful of breaths.

"Gardner! It's time to go, move!" Bruce ordered.

"Just go! Get the hell out of here, Bruce!" Guy shouted.

A grenade ended any more arguments, as the Batwing was starting to fall out of the airship.

"Just go! Go!" Guy shouted as the hallway he was on started to collapse.

"Bruce, we can't stay here!" Dick said. "We've got to leave now!"

"NO!" Bruce screamed as the airship fell apart to pieces, a result of Colonel Trevor's successful kamikaze.

"Damn it, Dick!" Bruce shouted. "Get us back here!"  


"It's too hot!" Dick argued. "If we go back, we all die!"

"Gardner, do you read me?! Gardner, come in! Gardner, do you copy!? Gardner, are you still there?" Bruce asked a nonexistent radio frequency.

Down below, the streets were just as chaotic as people were trying to avoid falling debris, and in the middle of it all, Linda Park was still looking for her boyfriend who was somewhere directing evacuation.

"Everyone, find safety now!" Wally shouted, trying to disguise his terror at the circumstances.

As Linda narrowly avoided a chunk of debris, she reached Wally, whose foot was stuck in the concrete, as a result of fighting Darkseid, whom Superman had already destroyed.

"Linda, it's no use!" Wally screamed at his girlfriend. "There's not enough time to get my foot out! Leave and go save yourself!"

It was obvious that he was trying to put on a brave face for her with his words, but his eyes and his voice said everything about his fear.

"I'm not leaving you." Linda declared, as she embraced Wally. "Not this time."  


Becoming calmer, Wally embraced Linda back.

"Then at least we die together." Wally said just before kissing her.

Linda returned the kiss, as a final piece of airship debris crushed them.

Even as the Batwing was returning to Metropolis, it was obvious that Jason would not make it.

Knowing this, Bruce carefully removed Red Hood's helmet.

"You're alive." Jason said, as he was apparently unconscious the past few minutes. "Did I save you yet?"

"Shhh." Bruce said comfortingly, removing his cowl. "Quiet, Jason. You've lost a lot of blood."

"Your eyes... That bad, huh?" Jason noted, observing Bruce's horrified look. "They always were ugly. Now the outside matches. I was waiting for this, but..."

Jason coughed blood before continuing.

"It's not fair. I let you down. I was supposed to save you."  


"I think we were all supposed to save each other, Jason." Bruce admitted, noting the horrific numbers of fatalities that day.

"I guess I'm just tired of living anyway." Jason confessed. "Too many deaths. I never told you. I lied to you."

"It's okay. All that has been forgiven. Be still." Bruce comforted.

"I don't want you to see me like this." Jason protested. "I don't want to die in front of you. I can't bear it."

"No." Bruce quietly protested. "I'll stay with you until the end comes."

"You saved me. Joke's on me." Jason scoffed. "Hurts when I laugh. Hurts."

Jason Todd was no more, and Bruce Wayne remained in the Batwing even hours after it landed, devastated by what had happened.

"That was the Battle of Earth in my timeline. It was a winnable battle, but the cost was not worth it. And Earth ended up worse off afterwards, because Bruce was too traumatized by the events of Veteran's Day to come out of seclusion." Terry summarized. "The bad guys all ended up dead, not that anyone missed them, but newer bad guys took over, and there weren't enough heroes to stop them. All because the sacrifices the many heroes made didn't even matter in the end. Ain't that a bitch."

Terry then showed Bruce's memorial list of those who had died in the alternate timeline, starting from "Superboy (Kon-El/Conner Kent)" to "Miss Martian (M'gann M'orzz/Megan Morse)".

"These other files, you guys can look over." Terry offered. "Me, I guess I'm done here. I'll go tell Conner and M'gann the short version."

Terry left the assembly chamber, and those within it to ponder on how to prevent it.

* * *

 **Yeah, that was one hell of a chapter. Fans of _Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes_ , _Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3_ , and _Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords_ can probably tell that I practically copied certain scenes from those games.**


	10. Chapter 7

**Hey, guys! I'm back! And now we're back on schedule in regards to Second Chance. Who's enjoying _Super Smash Bros. Ultimate_ this weekend? I'm not, because I'm waiting until Christmas to play. Anyways, here's Chapter 7!**

* * *

 _Watchtower, Orbit; March 21, 2027 17:30_

The majority of the League was still contemplating on the supposed future that Terry had shown them.

Even D.I., who had recently become infamous for his mean-spirited, poorly timed, and insensitive sense of humor, had nothing to snark about, instead left with Arsenal.

Clark was still processing the senseless tragedies that happened in the alternate timeline. Could all of this still happen? Could Conner be doomed to become Doomsday? Would M'gann become brutally tortured by Luthor? And would Earth be devastated this Veteran's Day?

Bruce, behind a mask of tortured stoicism, went through the files that his son had left. He was horrified by the details that Terry had understandably left out: Miss Park's miscarriage when the Watchtower was attacked by Luthor; Dick and Kory's divorce over the former choosing staying with Bruce over caring for his new family; M'gann's attempted suicide following the invasion; Shayera remaining a pariah even though she helped save the world twice; all of this started to push Bruce towards the line of thought that there was a very special place in hell reserved for Luthor.

It would also be a good idea not to tell Wally that his girlfriend had been pregnant in the alternate timeline right now. There was already an apocalypse due in November. The redheaded speeder certainly didn't need to worry about his family.

The mission to the LexCorp facility just outside of Metropolis would continue as planned, but Terry would be coming along to ensure that Conner was not captured. Right now, Conner's transformation into Doomsday was the first catalyst that had to be averted, otherwise, the world would be sent to hell.

Hopefully, Terry would break the news to Conner and Megan is a far gentler way, otherwise... otherwise, who knew what would happen?

* * *

 _Watchtower, Orbit; March 21, 2027 17:20_

Terry was walking towards Superboy and Miss Martian's shared quarters to gently tell them the news that they had missed.

He certainly didn't want to tell them about the circumstances of the latter's death in the alternate future.

Terry gently knocked on the door of their quarters, and Conner opened it a moment later.

"How's M'gann doing?" Terry asked in compassion.

"Doing better." Conner answered. "She's resting quietly."

"Good." Terry said in relief, but still having a stern outlook.

"Judging from the look on your face, I'm guessing that the future got worse in my absence." Conner assessed.

"That's an understatement." Terry admitted. "After you and Clark died, Luthor organized an xenophobic media campaign to banish the Martians, the Amazons, and the Atlanteans. Worse, that son of a bitch had the nerve to firebomb Smallville, assassinate Lois, and resurrect Clark just to tell him how his family was killed."

"Then Luthor has to die." Conner said bluntly. "Everything that happens is because of him. Remove him from the equation, and the world is saved."

"Bruce told me that it's probably not that simple." Terry responded with skepticism. "But you're right. Luthor is one of the largest keys to Armageddon. If we run into him, don't expect me to hesitate to put him down."

"Good." Conner uttered simply. "No feelings of patricide could make me feel sorry if that monster died."

The feelings of patricide was referring to the fact that Conner's DNA was half of Luthor's and half of Superman's.

"I probably shouldn't tell M'gann that she was tortured close to your final resting spot." Terry mused. "Or that she attempted suicide after the invasion."

"What?" Conner asked.

"Let's just say the poor girl needed a hug." Terry replied, ending the conversation. "I'm sure that she was reunited with you in the afterlife after... after..."

"After what?" Conner asked, very concerned.

"I told you that she had attempted suicide." Terry reiterated, in tears that he was about to reveal to Conner how M'gann died in the alternate timeline. "Though she failed, she had many 'episodes' when she accidentally mentally attacked those around her, because of her brain damage, and my brother had to shoot her to save his squad."

Terry now cried remembering the last straw that broke his idealism.

"I'm sorry." Conner apologized, patting Terry's back very gently.

"Bruce is going through the alternate timeline's files right now." Terry reported upon reaching re-composure. "Trying to keep half the world from ending, or at least the entire world from ending."

Conner nodded, as he looked upon the peaceful M'gann sleeping in the bed.

Another series of knocks was heard as someone apparently wanted to talk to Conner.

Conner therefore opened it, finding D.I. and Arsenal outside.

"Roy?" The half-Kryptonian asked.

"Some of us feel like the Justice League won't go far enough in regards to Luthor." Roy explained. "We're thinking of starting a blood oath."

"Meaning that each person that takes the oath sheds blood in the agreement." D.I. clarified, grabbing a bowl from the kitchen. "Everyone who sheds blood in this bowl will vow to not rest until Lex Luthor is a dead man."

"I would take part in it, but nothing short of a Kryptonite knife will make me bleed, and I'd rather not go through that substance again." Conner rejected.

Roy looked down in shame, as Conner referred to the time that he was incapacitated by Roy when he used Kryptonite dust to keep him from interfering with Roy punishing Wally for two-timing Artemis.

"On second thought, maybe a blood oath isn't a good idea." D.I. reconsidered. "It might end up being for nothing."

"I'm just more surprised that you of all people would consider assassination." Conner admitted. "Why?"

"Luthor's a bigger douche than me." D.I. answered with a half-truth. "I can't allow that."

"Oh, so it's about who's the bigger asshole, huh?" Conner scoffed. "And here I thought you would be returning to your principles from before the middle of February."

"Not all murders need to be personal." D.I. claimed, failing to cover up that something bad happened to him thanks to Luthor.

"And a contest on who's the bigger asshole isn't?" Conner rhetorically asked. "Tell me the truth, now, or I might need to wake up M'gann to read your mind."

"She won't do that." D.I. said. "Not unless if I've given her my approval."

"Okay, guys, chill out." Terry intervened, trying to calm tensions. "We're all on the same team. Let's not pull a Caboose."

"Normally that's the rule with people in general." Conner retorted, ignoring Terry. "But considering how rude you've been to M'gann lately, she probably won't bother asking you, and I'm positive that Nightwing hasn't taught you how to shield your mind."

"Yeah, you've been even more unlikable than Guy Gardner." Roy agreed.

 _Ouch, that one's going to hurt._ Terry contemplated, as D.I. stood agape in shock at how low the comparison was.

"Seriously, what the hell is going on with you?" Conner asked, seriously concerned. "Was this part of you buried beneath your more jovial persona?"

D.I. had no answer, nor did he want to give one.

"Did Luthor blind you?" Conner asked more gently. "Talk to us, please."

"Shit, I think we broke him." Roy realized. "Let's just get him back to the medical bay, again."

Conner and Roy supported D.I. back to the infirmary where Zatanna and Doctor Fate would help with mental recuperation exercises.

 _Is it just me, or is my idealistic image of the Justice League starting to fade away?_ Terry asked no one in particular.

He walked over to M'gann's bed, where the White Martian was rising from her brief slumber.

"How long did you hear the arguing, ma'am?" Terry politely asked.

"Too long, unfortunately." M'gann answered with a sad smile. "I appreciate Conner being protective of me, but how violent he can be in doing so... it scares me."

"You're afraid that one day he could accidentally hit you like Roy accidentally hit Donna." Terry inferred. "I attribute that to half his DNA coming from Luthor, who we've already decided is the most evil man on the planet. Thankfully, Conner has Clark's heart and maybe his mind."

"Superman did win half a dozen Nobel Peace Prizes after all." M'gann reflected. "But he politely rejected them all."

"He unified Korea, virtually brought an end to terrorism, and even reforested Africa." Terry stated.

Terry was impressed at how Clark, despite the many traumas in the alternate future, never went bad, which might have restored his faith in humanity.

* * *

 _Watchtower, Orbit; March 21, 2027 17:45_

Finally, Bruce had found a more optimistic audio recording from the alternate timeline: he and Wally discussing whether or not Linda could stay on the Watchtower.

"Bruce, you've got a second?" Flash asked.

"If it's about the fact that Barry's gone, I'm sorry about that." Bruce responded. "But I feel like it's something else."

"Yes, it is." Wally answered. "Many of the Justice League are being hunted down, and I'm worried that the death warrant might be extended to their families."

"Iris and her son are already in hiding." Bruce assured.

"Thanks again for that, but that's not who I'm worried about right now." Wally said. "Linda's in danger. She needs to stay on the Watchtower."

"Your girlfriend can just be relocated with your aunt, so why on the Watchtower?" Bruce inquired.

"She's carrying my kids." Wally finally answered. "I'm not taking any chance of a miscarriage because of an assassination attempt. She'll be safe with the other heroes on station."

"A few women I were unable to save in Gotham had died while pregnant." Bruce said, sympathetic of the circumstances. "I'll arrange for her to be transported here, but do not engage in any fornicating while on the Watchtower."

"Thanks, Bruce." Wally appreciated. "I'm not planning on working on any more babies until our twins enter the world."

"She'll stay until we're certain that Luthor has been taken down." Bruce promised. "Afterward, I expect you to raise your new family right."

"Sure thing, Bruce." Wally assured him. "I'm going to treat Linda right."

Bruce smiled in fondness for Wally. Checking the date of the recording, which read "August 16 2027", Bruce determined that Miss Park had been pregnant since February, as D.I. later reported that he didn't see the couple using a condom while engaging in "soap play".

By this time, the majority of the Leaguers were going home, or at least back to Earth. Tomorrow, they would be planning a mission to LexCorp, and ensure that Conner Kent would not be captured.

* * *

 **I know that I've already took a break from writing, but I think I won't return to a schedule anytime soon. Thanks to DC Watchergirl for Beta Testing.**


	11. Second Chance Message 2

**Hey, guys. Bit of a brief update. I won't have Chapter 8 released until Christmas, because I'm trying to decide on a plot thread which I won't reveal here. And once Chapter 8 is released, the next chapter will be in January. I doubt that I'll have _Second Chance_ done by Summet, but at least I won't phone it in. Love you guys.**


	12. Second Chance Message 3

**I hate to be the one admitting it, but it appears that mismanagement and procrastination have made a liar out of me this Christmas. Chapter 8 isn't coming out today. I wanted to apologize for the circumstances, but if I somehow get it released by next week, could you please forgive me? It's okay if you're all disappointed in me. I'm disappointed, too. But at least I won't half-ass it. Love you, guys, regardless of the outcomes.**


	13. Second Chance Message 4

**Hey, guys! Happy Valentine's Day! I'm making this message to let you know that I've been on writer's block for the past two months, but I'm going to get back to work on** ** _Second Chance_** **. I know that some of you have been worried, and I appreciate it. But know that I've been busy thinking.**


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